India’s wheat left to rot due to lack of storage [View all]

[marmar]

NEW DELHI—In fields along a northern Indian highway, mountains of grain have turned black with mildew after getting soaked in the rain.

The millions of tons of wheat rotting because India ran out of warehouse space to hold another bumper crop illustrate a core problem of the nation’s food crisis: India can grow plenty of food but cannot store or transport it well enough to nourish its 1.2 billion people.

Warehouses are overflowing and huge quantities of wheat and rice are stored in fields under tarpaulins and thin plastic sheets, risking decay.

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“The rotting of food grain is tantamount to criminal neglect in a country which has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition globally and the largest proportion of hungry people,” said Biraj Patnaik, an adviser to India’s Supreme Court on food policy issues. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1176287--india-s-wheat-left-to-rot-due-to-lack-of-storage?bn=1