NEW DELHI, INDIA – As part of a larger effort to boost modern grain storage capacity, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) plans to complete construction of numerous 3-million-tonne-capacity wheat silos throughout the country by November, the Financial Express reported.

India, which is the world’s second largest producer of wheat and rice and has currently banned exports of those grains to combat rising food prices, needs more modern grain storage facilities to reduce post-harvest waste. The FCI has already completed construction of 1-million-tonne and 2-million-tonne silos and eventually, as part of this grain storage expansion project, plans to build wheat silos with 9.4 million tonnes of capacity during the next three to four years at 196 locations across the country, according to the Financial Express report.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved an Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) on May 31 to facilitate the “World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector,” program, which entails setting up a variety of agricultural infrastructure, including warehouse, custom hiring center and processing units at the level of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), transforming them into multipurpose entities.

The grain storage expansion project is being funded through a public-private partnership and will cost about $1.3 billion, the Financial Express reported. Sources told the newspaper that private entities including Adani Agri Logistics and KCC Infrastructure have been awarded the contracts for construction.