Context:
Recently, the Indian Prime Minister inaugurated the pilot project of World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan, which is currently launched in 11 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) across 11 states.
Relevance:
GS III: Agriculture
Dimensions of the Article:
- Grain Storage Plan: Enhancing Agricultural Infrastructure
- About Primary agricultural credit societies
Grain Storage Plan: Enhancing Agricultural Infrastructure
Objective:
- The Grain Storage Plan aims to establish a storage capacity of 700 lakh tonnes within the next 5 years, involving a substantial investment of ₹1.25 lakh crore.
- The plan focuses on creating robust agricultural infrastructure at the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society (PACS) level, encompassing decentralized godowns, custom hiring centers, processing units, Fair Price Shops, etc.
- Integration of existing Government of India schemes is integral to the plan’s implementation.
Expected Outcomes:
- Facilitating Farmer Storage:
- Farmers will be empowered to store their produce in PACS godowns, providing them with the option to secure bridge finance for the subsequent crop cycle or sell their produce at Minimum Support Price (MSP), mitigating distress sales.
- Reduction of Post-Harvest Losses:
- A significant outcome of the Grain Storage Plan is the anticipated reduction in post-harvest losses.
- This reduction contributes to enhanced farmer earnings, ensuring improved economic conditions for farmers and fostering food security at the grassroots level.
- Benefiting Consumers:
- The plan’s ripple effect extends to consumers by stabilizing food prices and ensuring a more reliable and sustainable supply of grains.
- Enhanced storage capacity translates to better availability of food, thereby positively impacting the overall well-being of consumers.
About Primary agricultural credit societies:
- PACS is the smallest cooperative credit institution in India and a basic unit.
- The initial Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) was founded in 1904.
- It has a grassroots effect (gram panchayat and village level).
- PACS serves as the last point of contact between the primary borrowers, or rural residents, and the higher agencies, such as the Central Cooperative Bank, State Cooperative Bank, and Reserve Bank of India.
- PACS are governed by the RBI and registered under the Co-operative Societies Act.
- The “Banking Regulation Act-1949” and the “Banking Laws (Co-operative societies) Act 1965” are in charge of them.
Objectives of PACS
- To raise capital for the purpose of making loans and supporting members’ essential activities.
- To collect deposits from members with the goal of improving their savings habit.
- To supply agricultural inputs and services to members at reasonable prices,
- To arrange for the supply and development of improved breeds of livestock for members.
- To make all necessary arrangements for improving irrigation on land owned by members.
- To encourage various income-generating activities through supply of necessary inputs and services.
Functions of PACS
- PACS typically offer the following services to their members:
- Input facilities in the form of a monetary or in-kind component
- Agriculture implements for hire
- Storage space
