Parliament Question: Measures to Mitigate Food Grain Loss and Production

O.I.H. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION. NO. 158 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 10TH FEBRUARY, 2026 MEASURES TO MITIGATE FOOD GRAIN LOSS AND PRODUCTION *158. DR. SHIVAJI BANDAPPA KALGE: SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV LANKE: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी be pleased to state: (a) the steps being taken by the Government to check losses of food grains and agricultural production suffered by the farmers in Maharashtra and other States due to monsoon variability and cyclonic disturbances; (b) whether the Government has formulated any schemes to construct modern storage facilities/warehouses at the Gram Panchayat or Block level to provide relief to the farmers and prevent post-harvest losses, particularly in the Latur and Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) Parliamentary Constituencies of Maharashtra and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government proposes to provide continuous training, technical assistance and financial support for prevention of such natural disasters and conservation of food grain in future; and (d) if so, the details thereof State-wise including Maharashtra? ANSWER MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN) (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.158 REGARDING “MEASURES TO MITIGATE FOOD GRAIN LOSS AND PRODUCTION” DUE FOR REPLY ON 10TH FEBRUARY, 2026 (a): The total foodgrains production in the State of Maharashtra during 2024-25 was estimated at 184.69 lakh tonnes, which is higher than the 145.09 lakh tonnes achieved in 2023-24. The total foodgrains production in the country was estimated at a record 3577.32 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT), which is 7.65% higher than the foodgrains production of 3322.98 LMT achieved during 2023-24. Further, as per the 1st Advance Estimates 2025-26 (kharif only), total kharif foodgrains production in Maharashtra for 2025-26 is estimated at 101.51 lakh tonnes, which is higher than the 95.33 lakh tonnes kharif foodgrains production achieved in 2024-25. Under the National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM), seeds of short and medium duration varieties are reserved/maintained to meet the requirement of seeds to the farmers during natural calamities and unforeseen conditions like drought and flood etc. The Government has permitted the States to earmark 25% of funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes as flexi-funds with the objective that the States can, inter alia, use the flexi fund to undertake mitigation/restoration activities in case of natural calamities. A Crop Weather Watch Group for Drought Management (CWWGDM) is in place in Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to review the rainfall situation, progress of sowing of Kharif crops, reservoir levels and other parameters to determine/assess drought situation and to get first-hand information about the States’ preparedness in the event of any drought like development through weekly video conference with the State Governments/ other stakeholders during South-West Monsoon season (June to September). The Crisis Management Plan (CMP) for Drought is in place. It focuses on drought management interventions required during the time of crisis. It delineates the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, including Central and State Governments and their agencies in managing the calamity. The CMP provides a crisis management framework to identify phases of the crisis and the strategic response corresponding to each such phase. The plan also provides for a Strategic Activity Planner, which acts as a ready reckoner for critical steps that need to be taken in different times of the year with respect to drought preparedness, drought reporting and drought response and the agencies responsible for the identified activities. (b): Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India is implementing a central sector scheme “Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI)” a sub-scheme of Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM), in order to promote and strengthen holistic development of post-harvest marketing infrastructure including storage infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses and distress sale; enhance market access for farmers, is implemented across the country including Latur and Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) of Maharashtra. Under AMI sub-scheme of ISAM, in the state of Maharashtra, a total of 4,499 storage infrastructure projects of storage capacity of 95,70,046 MT have been assisted with subsidy release of Rs. 35,444.09 lakh since inception and up to 31.01.2026.The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) is Central Sector Scheme to mobilize medium and long-term debt financing for the development of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets. Under the scheme, Government of India provides credit support through 3% per annum interest subvention. Credit guarantee coverage for loans up to ₹ 2 crore is also supported under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) and NABSanrakshan. Since inception of the scheme in July 2020 till 04.02.2026, in the State of Maharashtra ₹ 9483.71 crore loan amount has been sanctioned for 15,637 projects. The Department of Food and Public Distribution, continuously assesses and monitors the storage capacity and based on the storage gap assessment, the storage capacities are created/hired through following schemes in the State of Maharashtra: i. Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme ii. Hiring of godown from CWCs/SWCs/State Agencies iii. Hiring of godown through Private Warehousing Scheme (PWS). iv. Creation of godowns under Asset Monetization v. Covered and Plinth (CAP) Hiring Scheme -2025 vi. Modified PEG scheme for NE & Hilly states with longer guarantee period of 15 years As on 01.01.2026, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has a covered Central Pool storage capacity of 19.08 LMT, comprising 9.23 LMT of owned capacity and 9.85 LMT of hired capacity. In addition, the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) has a covered storage capacity of 8.74 LMT comprising of 6.84 LMT owned and 1.9 LMT hired capacity in the State of Maharashtra. (c) & (d): Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) implements National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) with an aim to develop and promote climate resilient technologies in 151 districts covering 448 Climate Resilient Villages. Risk and vulnerability assessment to climate change has been carried out under NICRA for 651 agricultural districts as per Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) protocols. 310 districts were identified as vulnerable out of which 109 districts have been categorized as ‘very high’ and 201 districts as ‘highly’ vulnerable. In Maharashtra, NICRA project implemented through KVKs in Nandurbar, Ahmednagar, Beed, Osmanabad, Latur and Jalna districts which experiences drought, dry spell, heat stress, intensive rains and cold stress. Through NICRA a range of proven climate-resilient technologies have been demonstrated in the farmers' fields in these districts. Some of the technologies include promotion of climate resilient varieties tolerant to drought, heat and flood, rainwater harvesting structures, soil and water conservation measures, sustainable rice cultivation methods, green manuring, agroforestry, improved fodder varieties, breeds and shelter and dietary supplementation in livestock etc. Village level institutions were also established through custom hiring centres, fodder and seed banks for timely operations and to minimize the climatic change impact. The experiences and success stories of NICRA were up scaled by the Maharashtra Government through the Project on Climate Resilient Agriculture (POCRA), with World Bank funding to upscale these interventions across 5,000 villages.NICRA project enables developing and demonstrating site-specific technologies to help farmers cope with climate variability and extreme weather conditions like droughts, floods, and heat waves in Nandurbar, Ahmednagar, Beed, Osmanabad, Latur and Jalna districts which experiences drought, dry spell, heat stress, intensive rains and sometimes cold stress. The experiences of NICRA project and the success stories are well docketed and shared with State Governments for further upscaling. Under NICRA project a significant component is conducting technology demonstrations, training and awareness programs for farmers and scientists to build their capacity in climate-resilient agricultural research and its on-field application. Over the past 15 years, about 25000 training programs were conducted benefitting 7.57 lakh farmers across the country. In Maharashtra, so far about 550 trainings were conducted on natural resource management, crop based and livestock climate resilient technologies to 12000 farmers. *****