MINOR PROJECT_START TERM SUBMISSION

Grain Storage Techniques

BE (Mechanical), 7th Semester

2012

Submitted By

Supervised By

Ashish Ranjan (UE99016) Harish Chander (UE99024) Nikhil Swatantra(UE99039) Rajat Kumar (UE99052)

Dr. Manu Sharma Faculty, Mechanical Wing

UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE

OF

ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY, CHANDIGARH

ABSTRACT
A country like India where around 41.6% of the total population falls below the international poverty line cannot afford to let its food grain go to waste, especially when the grain procurement figures have reached dizzying heights. But it is indeed ironical and extremely unfortunate that government officials have admitted to the fact that there is a lack of enough grain storage and distribution infrastructure in the major grain-producing areas of the country when an overwhelming majority of the population is wallowing in extreme poverty, famine and hunger has resulted in untimely deaths and widespread devastation. To top it, food prices are skyrocketing, owing to shortage of food supplies. Television reports have shown sacks of rotting wheat and other grains lying unattended in railways yards, in the open in various grain storage sites with no precaution against rats, disease droplets and damp air. This has sparked a nationwide outrage with the grave situation receiving international media coverage and top economists around the world discussing the conflicting issue of prevalent conflicting issue of hunger and surplus grain storage problem blaming the government for concentrating the benefits of the Green Revolution in a few selected states only thereby depriving other poorer states of the country. Favorable weather conditions, proper supply of irrigation water, fertilizers etc have resulted in excellent growth of various crops. Most importantly, India needs new and sufficient storage facilities. The government has already approved of the construction of 13 lakh tonnes of storage capacity to tackle this problem. But it needs to be seen that the plan is effected. India has more than enough food grains to sustain its billion strong population. So citing poor production as the reason behind the hunger problem is laughable indeed. What we need to do is come up with a creative solution to this problem and make sure that corruption and bureaucracy are not bottlenecking the path to progress. Otherwise the deep-seated anger and frustration of the

deprived people are bound to erupt one day and we run the risk of facing nothing short of a civil war leading to extreme anarchy and ouster of the government. Such a situation is undesirable; hence the government must act before its too late. We have suggested a somewhat decentralized model of food grain storage for long; by coming up with the ideas of new innovative storage facilities , the government will not only save a substantial amount of money that goes into warehousing and reduce the time required for distribution, it can also ensure that the crops are actually reaching the beneficiaries.

INTRODUCTION
Grain storage scenario in India Food grains form an important part of the vegetarian Indian diet. Grain production has been steadily increasing due to advancement in production technology, but improper storage results in high losses in grains. According to World Bank Report (1999), post-harvest losses in India amount to 12 to 16 million metric tons of food grains each year, an amount that the World Bank stipulates could feed one-third of India's poor. The monetary value of these losses amounts to more than Rs 50,000 crores per year. Natural contamination of food grains is greatly influenced by environmental factors such as type of storage structure, temperature, pH, moisture, etc. Types of structure used, length and purpose of storage, grain treatment (e.g. parboiling) and prestorage practices are all important variables affecting storage losses. The importance of these regional and crop variations immediately determines certain necessary characteristics of crop storage research. During storage, quantitative as well as qualitative losses occur due to insects, rodents, and micro-organisms. A large number of

insect pests have been reported to be associated with stored grains. The occurrence and numbers of stored grain insect pests are directly related to geographical and climatic conditions. Almost all species have remarkably high rates of multiplication and, within one season, may destroy 10-15% of the grain and contaminate the rest with undesirable odors and flavors. Insect pests also play a pivotal role in transportation of storage fungi.

Traditional grain storage structures

Grain storage plays an important role in preventing losses which are caused mainly due to weevils, beetles, moths and rodents. It is estimated that 60-70% of food grain produced in the country is stored at home level in indigenous storage structures. The percentage of overall food crop production retained at the farmlevel and the period of storage is largely a function of farm-size and yield per acre, family-size, consumption pattern, marketing pattern, form of labour payment, credit availability and future crop expectations. The storage methods range from mud structures to modern bins. The containers are made from a variety of locally available materials differing in design, shape, size and functions. The materials used include paddy straw, wheat straw, wood, bamboo, reeds, mud, bricks, cow dung etc. Grains can be stored indoors, outdoor or at underground level. Indoor storage involves grain containment in structures like Kanaja, Kothi, Sanduka and earthern pots. Outdoor storage of grains is done in structures made of bamboo or straw mixed with mud. Bamboo structures are used for storing unthreshed and threshed paddy.

Gummi is an outdoor structure used for storing grains.. Kacheri is a traditional storage structure using paddy or wheat straw, woven as rope. It is made from either paddy straw alone or paddy straw mixed with mud. Hagevu is an underground structure that is used to store grains. It is a simple pit lined with straw ropes to prevent damage from moisture. In some cases, hagevu is constructed as an indoor structure (with stones). It is however important to note that these indigenous storage structures are not suitable for storing grains for very long periods. Regular mud plastering is required for a variety of indoor and outdoor storage containers and structures for increasing their life span and ensuring safe storage of grains.

Improved grain storage structures

With several problems associated with traditional modes of grain storage some modifications have been done to offer improved grain storage structures to the farmers. For small-scale storage of grains the PAU bin, Pusa bin and Hapur tekka have been proposed. In addition to small scale storage there are structures for large scale storage of grains. Large scale grain storage is done in CAP and silos. CAP Storage (Cover and Plinth) involves the construction of brick pillars to a height of 14" from the ground, with grooves into which wooden crates are fixed for the stacking of bags of food grains. The stacks are covered with 250 micron LDPE sheets from the top and all four sides. Food grains such as wheel, maize, gram, paddy, and sorghum are generally stored in CAP (cover and plinth) storage for 6-12 month periods. It is the most economical storage structure and is being widely used by

the FCI for bagged grains. The structure can be fabricated in less than 3 weeks. It is an economical way of storage on a large scale. The silos are either metal or concrete. Metal silos are cheaper than the concrete ones. In silos the grains in bulk are unloaded on the conveyor belts and, through mechanical operations, are carried to the storage structure. The storage capacity of each of these silos is around 25,000 tonnes.

Safe and scientific storage warehousing in India

Bulk storage of produce is done in warehouses. Warehouses are scientific storage structures especially constructed for the protection of the quantity and quality of stored products. The warehouses are owned by FCI, CWC or the SWCs. The Central Warehousing Corporation provides safe and reliable storage facilities for about 120 agricultural and industrial commodities. It is the largest public warehouse operator in the country. It also offers services in the area of cleaning and forwarding, handling and transportation, procurement and distribution, disinfection services, fumigation services and other ancillary activities ie safety and security, insurance, standardization and documentation. Apart from CWC and SWCs, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has also created storage facilities. The Food Corporation of India is the single largest agency which has a capacity of 26.62 million tonnes. For safe and scientific storage it is important to carefully select the storage site, storage structure, undertake cleaning and fumigation, ensure proper aeration of grains followed by regular inspection of grain stock. Pest infestation in grains is affected by

moisture content of grains, relative humidity, temperature, storage structure, storage period, processing, hygienic condition and the fumigation frequency followed.

PROBLEM FORMULATION
The grain production has been on the rise with better facilities in terms of seeds, technology, fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation but associated is the loss of grains which has also increased. Around Rs 50,000 crores every year are lost due to improper storage of food grains. Natural contamination of food grains is greatly influenced by environmental factors such as type of storage structure, temperature, pH, moisture, etc.

Despite prolonged winters and untimely rains, markets have been flooded with heavy wheat arrivals. But lack of space is adding to the woes of farmers, who are forced to store their produce unscientifically, which causes considerable damage to wheat grains.Inclement weather has also caused moisture content to go

beyond the permissible limit of 12%, which resulted in delayed procurement, making farmers keep sitting in grain markets for days.

The combination of plentiful monsoon rains and high minimum purchase prices for wheat and rice means the country is forecasting an all-time-high grain production of 250.42 million tons in the crop year ending June 30. Even if the government meets targets to expand storage capacity by June, that would still leave around 8 million tons of grains out in the open vulnerable to weather and attacks by rodents. The government will likely also have to store 20 million tons in makeshift spaces, covered by water-proof sheets and resting on wooden platforms erected over bricks. Pre-monsoon showers already have damaged some of the newly-harvested wheat crop in the breadbasket state of Punjab in western India.

Up to 7% of the countrys annual grain production goes to waste because of insufficient storage space and creaky transport and distribution networks. Efforts to attract private investment have foundered due to bureaucratic hurdles. Poor coordination between the federal government and Indias states also results in the spoilage of grains that are properly stored. More than a million tons of wheat in state-run warehouses from previous bumper crops is likely to go bad because the government has failed to distribute it over the past two to three years. In other cases, grain spoils due to the lack of simple things such as high quality weather-resistant bags. Hardy grains such as rice can be stored for long periods, provided such basic measures are taken.

METHODOLOGY
Firstly, we have planned to visit the FCI storage facilities to study the real storage problem, and accordingly with the help of field engineers & experts our team will work for the core solution dedicatedly. Secondly, well have direct words with the farmer(s) regarding grain cultivation problems,their expectations from the government, future prospects of agriculture , etc. In other cases, grain spoils due to the lack of simple things such as high quality weather-resistant bags. Hardy grains such as rice can be stored for long periods, provided such basic measures are taken.

We are confident for a positive result and will come up with a creative solution to this problem and make sure that corruption and bureaucracy are not bottlenecking the path to progress. Otherwise the deep-seated anger and frustration of the deprived people are bound to erupt one day and we run the risk of facing nothing short of a civil war leading to extreme anarchy and ouster of the government. Such a situation is undesirable; hence we must act before its too late.

EXPECTED RESULTS
Resolving the grain storage problems of warehouses in the country consequently saving tonnes of grain from being rotten leading to the distribution of it among the needy of the country.

Thank You Jai hind