A good store

The country's oldest public warehouse, the Central Warehousing Company, continues to uphold its job with pride. TAJ explores the secret behind its success

Storage of agriculture goods is an important link in farming and farmers spend an enormous amount of their resources investing in this necessity. Post India's independence, our government too keeping in mind the sufferings of farmers, had set up a permanent storage facility—the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) in March 1956. Today, the Corporation tops the list of organisations handling containers in the country. CWC provides scientific storage facilities for agriculture inputs, produce, and other notified commodities and caters to the needs of agriculturists, traders, industrialists, government and government sponsored organisation, importers and exporters. Additionally, the Corporation is also involved in leasing and forwarding, handling and transportation, procurement and distribution, disinfestations services, fumigation services. Over the years, CWC has grown and its possessions include 34 CFS and 474 warehouses throughout the country including 98 public Management Custom Bonded warehouses. It also runs three Air Cargo Complexes and 21 Container Freight Stations and Inland Container Depots providing support to import/export trade. Its total warehousing capacity amounts to 9.4 million tonnes.

DIVERSIFICATION
At the time of its inception, it was envisaged that the Corporation would establish farmers' bank through issuing Warehousing Receipts that could be used to avail credit facilities. However, this very objective gave CWC a reason to diversify. Impositions of credit curbs by banks on advances against warehouse receipt compelled the Corporation to arrest the downward trends triggered by these credit curbs, but also to ensure normal pace of expansion demanded of Public Sector Undertakings.

SCHEMES INITIATED
Though its services are not limited to farmers alone, the Corporation is sensitive to the vulnerability of this industry category. Consequently it has been making consistent efforts to educate farmers on the best storage and warehousing practices. Which is why the Corporation had launched the Farmers Extension Service Scheme (FESS) in 1978-79. Moving further, Disinfestations Extension Service Scheme (DESS) is yet another effective system offered by the Corporation to the farmers, traders, exporters, railways, airlines, hotels, banks etc. Under this scheme, pest control services are provided at...

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