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FCI ready to outsource quality inspection

By Our Special Correspondent

COIMBATORE Nov. 9. The Food Corporation of India is prepared to outsource quality inspection to State Agricultural Universities to protect its "credibility", K. Suresh, Zonal Manager (South), has said.

Inaugurating training for FCI officials in integrated storage management for food grains at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University here, he said though the FCI followed prescribed measures, the public raised a hue and cry over the quality of foodgrains distributed through the public distribution system.

"This puts quality control managers in a difficult position as the certified produce is not accepted by the public. Therefore, the credibility of the FCI is at stake." In this connection, he said his organisation would be ready even to outsource the quality inspection part to the State Agricultural Universities "which can inspect the produce and issue certificates." The collaboration with a University of the TNAU's stature would benefit the FCI in better management of its stored produce, he said.

Mr. Suresh, in a TNAU release, also expressed concern over the fall in rice stocks in the FCI godowns due to successive monsoon failure.

The Vice-Chancellor, C. Ramasamy, in his presidential address, said this collaboration was another instance of the TNAU's "continued commitment to increasingly strengthen institute-industry linkages". He lauded the FCI efforts to stock nearly 60 million tonnes of foodgrains, "which is more than one-fourth of the annual production in the country". At the same time, he expressed concern over the "general neglect" of post-harvest operations and foodgrains management. Huge losses were frequently reported in storage, which necessitated appropriate research and development efforts. "Financial support for R and D efforts is needed for agricultural universities from funding agencies, and the FCI should also consider funding such efforts". On its part, the TNAU was strengthening its post-harvest management R and D, with a collaborative venture with the McGill University, Canada, where 23 of its scientists were sent for training.

The Vice-Chancellor said: "Traditional systems will not hold good for large-scale storage and need to be replaced with modern methods".

The TNAU was a pioneer in control of storage pests and had released several technologies and gadgets to control them. "However, considering the low adoption rate of technologies by farmers, it is now concentrating on developing more deliverable forms of technologies to increase adoption rates". The TNAU was also conducting research to reduce pesticide tolerance limits in food produce.

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