Grain Storage and Transportation Management

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Safe storage of food grains is required to ensure the timely availability of food grains for humans throughout the year to achieve the target of food and nutritional security, a Sustainable Developmental Goal. Storage is the process involving the preservation of surplus food grains for future need. Large quantities of food grains spoil due to inadequate and improper storage conditions and post-harvest handling. Storage losses are caused by different biotic (insect-pests, microorganisms, rodents, etc.), abiotic (temperature, moisture, and their interaction with surrounding environments) factors and that structure and conditions of the storage structure used to preserve the food grains. It is necessary to minimize storage losses by adopting improved and advanced storage structures and conditions, which will lead to better accessibility of food grains for human use. Farmers normally use traditional storage structures to store food grains, which are comparatively cheap and eco-friendly and made from locally available materials across the developing countries using traditional wisdom. These traditional structures experience the problem of varying levels of losses due to insect infestation, rodent attack, or other causes depending on the structure. These traditional structures and practices can be improved and used to minimize losses to a greater extent. The chapter provides insight into various traditional, improved, and modern storage systems used to store food grains for short- or long-term storage. The science-based proper storage management practices adopted by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are a sustainable food storage system with only 0.3% storage losses. This chapter discusses the role of FCI in food security; warehouse storage management practices; safety measures required to be taken prior to, during, and after storage conditions; and the significance of and problems faced by the transport system for storage of food grains. An efficient and cost-effective transport system is required to ensure the procurement of food grains for storage and for their further distribution to consumers to ensure the timely availability of food grains.