Warehousing Made Cheaper, Easier And Accessible: Piyush Goyal's Announcement To Empower Agriculture Sector For 'Viksit Bharat'

Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the agriculture sector will play a pivotal role in India's journey towards 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047, as per a report by The Economic Times.

He announced a reduction in security deposit charges at Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) registered warehouses, from 3 per cent to 1 per cent, to encourage more farmers, particularly small farmers, to utilise these facilities and increase their income.

Goyal expressed gratitude to farmers for their role in securing the nation's food supply and highlighted how the 'e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi' initiative will use technology to simplify warehousing logistics, ensuring fair prices for farmers' produce and preventing distress sales.

He also emphasised the importance of WDRA-monitored warehouses, stating they are well-equipped to protect farm produce and improve farmers' welfare.

Goyal further called for mandatory registration of Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouses under WDRA and urged states to prepare their warehouses for infrastructure readiness.

He explained that the 'e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi' platform allows farmers to store their produce at registered WDRA warehouses for six months at 7 per cent interest per annum, with a simplified digital process.

Goyal set a target of registering 1 lakh warehouses on the portal and praised the significant increase in warehouse registrations last year. He highlighted that with 'e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi' and e-NAM, farmers can access interconnected markets, benefiting beyond the minimum support price (MSP) government procurement, which has increased 2.5 times in the last decade.

Goyal also mentioned the launch of the world's largest cooperative food grain storage scheme and urged WDRA to propose free registration for all cooperative sector warehouses, further incentivising farmers to use WDRA facilities and get fair prices for their harvest.