India to start making strategic foodgrain reserves this year

New Delhi, Apr 25 (UNI) With a good crop this year, India will soon start making strategic reserves of foodgrains.

''The process will be completed in two to three years,'' Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.

Replying to a supplementary, Mr Pawar said this year procurement had been very encouraging with a good crop and farmers too responding very favourably to the Centre's drive.

So far 110 lakh tonne of wheat has come into market, and out of that, the government had procured 104 lakh tonne, he said.

Mr Pawar said the country was now in a position to start making strategic reserve from this year itself, a process which will take two to three years to complete.

He said there was no problem of storage as still only 50 to 55 per cent of the storage capacity of the country was being utilised.

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