ICAR and FCI signs MoU for Safe and Sustainable Foodgrain Storage

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 30 September 2026 to undertake research on alternative fumigation technologies for safe and sustainable management of storage pests in wheat and rice. The research study is supported by the Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

The two-year Phase-I project will be implemented by ICAR–Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana.

The MoU was signed in the presence of the Dr. M. L Jat, Secretary, DARE & Director General, ICAR; Dr. Rajbir Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Engineering), Dr. D.K. Yadav Deputy Director General (Crop Science), Dr. K. Narsaiah, Assistant Director General (Processing Engineering); ICAR. The MoU was signed by Dr. Nachiket Kotwaliwale, Director, ICAR-CIPHET and Dr. A.K. Sinha, Executive Director (Quality Control), FCI. The event was also attended by Ms. Priya Jacob, Director, DFPD, Sh. Rajagopal General Manager QC-FCI, Dr. Devinder Dhingra, Pr. Scientist, ICAR; Dr. Sandeep Mann Pr. Scientist and Lead Investigator of project, ICAR-CIPHET; Shri Gautam Kumar, Deputy General Manager (Quality Control), FCI; Sh CP Saharan and Ms. Sarika Pritam, Assistant General Manager (Quality Control), FCI..(updated on 1st October 2026)