Farmers and traders often have to store cereal grains and oilseeds because of the variations in the market demand and production. The grains undergo quality and quantity losses during long periods of storage. Abiotic (grain temperature, moisture content and intergranular gas composition) and biotic (insects, mites and fungi) factors interact to damage the stored grains. Proper storage facilities and management practices are essential for safe storage of grains. Selection of grain storage facilitiesand the management practices depend on the grain to be stored, local weather conditions and the availability of construction material and labour. This paper discuses and compares the grain storage facilities used and the management practices in India and Canada. India experiences losses of about 7 to 10 percent of her production in storage while the storage losses in Canada are less than 1 percent. Bag storage is common in India whereas grains are handled and stored in bulk in Canada. The reasons for such variations and the possible strategies to be followed for reducing the storage losses in India, based on the experience of Canada, will also be outlined.
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