We hope the project starts paying for itself over the next 5- 6 years, Atul Chaturvedi, CEO, Adani Enterprises, told FE. As per the twenty-year agreement with the FCI, the state-owned procurement major would pay a rental of Rs 2,000 per quintal per annum for procurement, storage and transportation of wheat to be delivered at various centres. The silos at Kaithal, spread across 32 acre, procured more than 1.5 lakh tonne of wheat during the rabi season. As an incentive, the farmers bringing in agricultural produce were paid Rs 19.70 per quintal besides the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,000 per quintal.
Foodgrain transported from the base depot is stored in bulk at the field depots with similar preservation and storage facilities. The grain is delivered to the FCI both in bulk and bagged form as required, at the field depots.
However, a FCI official said that the agency paid around Rs 35-Rs 45 per quintal per annum for procurement and storage of foodgrain in conventional storehouses. In a conventional storage house, there is significant loss of foodgrain due to poor preservation facilities, a FCI official admitted.