Glaring loopholes in Food Supply Chain

India is the world’s largest producer of millets and the second largest producer of rice and wheat. Food grains rot in warehouses while millions live with empty stomachs

The reasons behind this paradox of plenty

1) Over-procurement with high MSP in place, with no planning

2) Too many bureaucratic procedure involved in the Export of food grains and the non availability of Global Supply Chain mobile app software.

3) Poor quality of storage facilities, the use of a cover and plinth (CAP) method, storing food grain in the open under tarpaulin sheets vulnerable to fungus and moisture, water leaks in warehouses, the godown infested by pests & rodents.

4) Due to shortage of manpower for days, food grains are left outside and sometimes untimely rain destroys the food grains.

5) Building more storage facilities requires lot of investment specially in terms of real estate. FCI is following the First in First Out policy to the extent possible.

The farmers will get better price only when they market farm produce in competitive markets, domestic as well as export market

Too much state intervention is not good for farmers. The biggest mass murder in the history of the world happened under the Stalinist & Maoist collectivization farming

India has around 3.2 million registered non-government organisations (NGOs). Indians have more per capita NGOs than hospital beds. The Central Statistical Organisation of India states there are around four NGOs for every 1,000 people in urban areas and 2.3 NGOs for every 1,000 rural population. 

Supply chain  

is one of the main pillar of national economy and a major source of income for farmers. Consumers fully depend on this.

It connects the food on our plates, the farmers who produce, and the natural resources – our soil, air and water – that make growing food possible.

Digital Supply Chain and optimization using BIGData Analytica tools will guarantee better price for farmers, avoid wastage and ensure fresh fruits & vegetables for consumers at reasonable price.

Agriculture supply chain is complex because of Fragmented supply source and fragmented distribution. Micro level information gathering from rural areas is still a bottleneck. In addition, the low Shelf Life of Fresh produce like vegetables and fruits makes it more complex. The traditional APMC Mandis fail to meet the above requirements.

A major problem is that, most of the profit is shared by the non-farmers. There was a severe food inflation during UPA2 and at the same time the farmers were facing more problems than ever before. That means the price paid by consumers for their food actually went to people in between the supply chain. A digital supply chain is a must.

The indiscriminate price variation due to fluctuation in Supply-Demand gap is disgusting for many farmers. In the past, the price of tomato and onion regularly used to fluctuate each year. The onion price wars are used as a weapon during election campaign

In a non-digital supply chain, it will not be possible to obtain a consolidated figure of supply & demand

Indian food processing industry merrily imports cheaper tomato paste in large quantities from China at a time when Indian farmers are forced to dump tomatoes in the streets. See this link

Not able to get the right price for tomatoes, farmers often resort to throwing away the produce

Colonial Period

Britain maintained a complete monopoly over farmer's produce and Indian forest resources. The British monopoly in rice trade gave them a clear 900 percent profit. The monopolistic Mandi model of hoarding, storage and speculation pushed up the price level very fast. The export of grains even in the lean years created famines. The poor starving masses had no option except to become rice bag converts, join the army or become an indentured labor in Colonial plantations.

It was Lal Bahadur Shastri, who for the first time, galvanized farmers and soldiers alike with Jai Jawan Jai Kisan slogan.

Genuine farmer is in their fields working. Those protest in streets  are

1. Congress, Akali dal, AAP, TMC
2. Khalistanis & NRIs
3. Canadian PM & British MPs
4. Western Leftist Liberals, CCP and Indian Communists
5. Bollywood sidekicks
6. Shaheen Bagh Lay offs
7. biryani caterers

Corrupt people are like predators, the poor farmers are their prey. An African proverb - Every morning in Africa, when a gazelle wakes up, it knows that it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning when a lion wakes up, it knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will be starved to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running either to acquire dinner or to avoid becoming dinner.

Deception is used offensively by predators/parasites and defensively by preys/hosts