Bring back AI-based grain testing: Punjab rice industry

The Punjab rice industry has demanded the reintroduction of AI-based Automatic Grain Analysers (AGAs) at Food Corporation of India (FCI) depots, saying it erases ‘human bias’.

Although the technology was deployed at all major rice acceptance centres last year to screen damaged or sprouted grains, it was discontinued, and manual checking resumed.

The issue was raised by a delegation of Punjab Rice Industry Association (PRIA) that met Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Pralhad Joshi in New Delhi on Wednesday. The millers also stressed the need to resolve issues related to the Fortified Rice Kernel (FRK) policy and the “severe storage crisis” in the state.

Rice millers argue that the return to manual checking, intended to verify marginal quality samples and detect sprouted grains, reintroduced human errors. They urged the Centre to prioritise AI-based AGAs to ensure a faster and more transparent procurement process.

Delegation member Ranjit Singh Jossan told the minister that AI tech can process a sample of wheat, paddy or rice in less than a minute but the machines have been lying non-functional for the past year. This has led to a rise in “arbitrary practices” by FCI staff, and widespread dissatisfaction among millers, the organisation says.

The delegation, led by PRIA president Bharat Bhushan Binta, expressed concerns over the FRK policy and demanded that delivery of fortified rice should be suspended, at least for this fiscal, as the Centre already has a bumper stock of fortified rice lying in warehouses across the country. Binta argued that if delivery of fortified rice is stopped for a year, the pressure on rice milling industry due to FRK-related complications would be reduced to a great extent.

The delegation said that despite excess stock, the continued insistence on FRK has disrupted milling operations and increased financial and operational stress on rice millers in Punjab.

Short Of Space

The millers flagged an “acute shortage” of storage space in Punjab. They informed the minister that 105 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of rice is to be delivered from the state this year, while most warehouses are already full with rice and wheat stocks. The association warned that if movement of rice and wheat from Punjab is not expedited, then it may take nearly a year to complete the delivery of 105 LMT of rice. This would result in deterioration of rice quality and cause heavy losses to the industry.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.