This article discusses initiatives of the government agencies in establishing storage systems in order to ensure better food security for India. These initiatives include Grameen Bhandaran Yojana and Education and Training. The other issues discussed here are cost structure in establishing storage system, status of warehousing capacity over the years and challenges facing storehouses. This article concludes by enunciating how improved storage system can provide better food security. The agricultural production in India varies from 200-220 million tonnes and the per capita availability is 459 gram. The per capita availability shows a great deficit of food supply to citizen and prevalence of malnutrition among the poor. The per capita availability of food may be changed magnitudinally if India establishes scientific storage facility and minimizes the wastage of production in field, transportation and mandi. Recently, the central government has announced that India has a stock of 25.11 million tonnes foodgrains against the buffer norm targets to have 26.90 million tonnes.

This figure shows a very close difference between of having and should have buffer capacity but surely, it is a punch to thinker. This shortfall is due to the lower procurement of wheat in 2005-06 which was 14.79 million tonnes (earlier it was 16.80 million tonnes). These figures show that India is not self-sufficient in production and even not able to procure what is to be supposed. Furthermore, our public distribution system is very poor and known for malpractices and on the other hand different intermediaries in this channel sometimes create artificial shortage to increase the prices of commodities. Wastage of food grains because of lack of storage facility is another facet to think of.