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India’s granaries are overflowing—particularly with wheat and rice production surpassing official targets. Yet, this abundance paints a curious picture of prosperity marred by structural inefficiencies.

Policymakers can ill afford to overlook this situation. If left unaddressed, it could rebound on them with significant consequences.

Behind the impressive numbers lie deeper concerns. For instance, rice production has hit 59.5 million metric tonnes against a target of just 13.5 million metric tonnes—a staggering surplus. But rather than a cause for celebration, it highlights an operational mismatch: procurement continues at full pace, while distribution and market offloading remain sluggish.

Such imbalance threatens to push up storage costs, increase the risk of grain spoilage, and distort market dynamics. The government’s decision to lift export curbs in March was a welcome move—but it came too late. Delays led to stockpiling, making India a late entrant in a global rice market suffering from shortages—an opportunity that could have been seized earlier.

Similarly, wheat production has reached 36.9 million metric tonnes, surpassing the buffer norm. This is encouraging, especially considering the country was contemplating wheat imports just last year. However, the surplus must be put to active use. Timely offloading into the open market is critical—not only to keep prices in check but also to ensure that schemes like the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana remain relevant and effective.

The government must remain vigilant to avoid massive wastage from excess stocks. Mismanagement could undermine both farmer confidence and fiscal discipline in food security.

Equally important is the issue of farmer incentives. High procurement prices and assured government purchase may lead to skewed cropping patterns. If farmers are guaranteed attractive prices for rice and wheat, they are likely to abandon cultivation of oilseeds and pulses. This would worsen India’s import dependence on these commodities—hurting the exchequer and long-term food security.

In the short term, aggressive open market sales and large-scale exports, particularly to Africa and Southeast Asia, could offer relief. However, India must factor in global competition from countries like Vietnam and Thailand.

It is also time to move away from dependence on traditional godowns and invest in modern grain storage silos. Without this shift, the risks of rotting and pilferage will remain high.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI)—the backbone of India’s food management system—must reinvent itself. Instead of merely acting as a buyer and custodian of grain, it should become an agile market participant, offloading stocks strategically and ensuring food security in a dynamic manner.

Let this be a lesson: an abundance of food grains without timely distribution leads to stagnation, not security.

India needs a proactive, flexible, and forward-looking grain management policy. Not only is this an economic necessity—it is an overdue agricultural reform waiting to happen.

Grain must not gather dust in warehouses. It must flow—to markets, to households, to hungry mouths in India and beyond..