Lok Sabha Question No. 158 (STARRED), answered on 2026-02-10
Subject: Measures to Mitigate Food Grain Loss and Production
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Shivaji Bandappa Kalge, Shri Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke

## 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 10 TH  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 क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी 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 क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी (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 10 TH  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.

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