A group of Arizona State University students has taken a close look at one of India’s long-standing agricultural challenges—the shortage of proper grain storage—and proposed practical solutions aimed at improving food security and farmer welfare.
The initiative was part of a month-long policy project hosted by the India Policy and Economy Research Club, a student-run organisation that encourages young people to tackle complex real-world issues. On 16 October, marking World Food Day, the club’s four finalist teams presented their proposals on the theme “Democratisation of Agriculture for Global Food Security”.
Computer science student Manasvenee Premkumar shared a story that captured the problem’s human side. She described a farmer who, after months of hard work, discovers that his local storage centre is full and is forced to sell his crops at less than half their value. “His crops are gone. His livelihood and his labour, gone,” she said.
Premkumar’s team, which included supply chain student Srihitha Jaligama and business data analytics major Havish Akarapu, found that India produces around 328 million metric tonnes of grains each year but has capacity to store only about 145 million. The lack of real-time tracking and coordination across the supply chain compounds the problem.
Their proposal lays out a three-phase plan to modernise storage logistics, reduce middlemen’s control, and strengthen farmers’ access to fair pricing. The students believe that better data, transparent systems and modern infrastructure could help bridge the gap between production and storage, reducing waste and losses.
According to the club’s first officer, robotics major Mudit Lal, the project is about more than classroom learning—it’s a way for students to contribute to policy conversations. “We came from different backgrounds and didn’t know much about agriculture at first, but we learned enough to discuss policy solutions confidently. It’s not only lawmakers or politicians who can do this. It can be you,” he told his peers.
The club has already reached out to policymakers in India, including senior figures in the agriculture ministry, to explore how some of these ideas could be piloted on the ground. Students are now preparing detailed reports that outline how their proposals could work in real settings.
Other teams tackled related challenges within Indian agriculture. One group suggested subsidising the use of organic and bio-based fertilisers to replace synthetic ones that leak into groundwater. Another team explored how farmers could transition to sustainable practices such as composting and crop rotation to improve yields and soil health. A third focused on promoting indigenous seed varieties for pulse crops like lentils and chickpeas, encouraging farmers to breed and preserve local strains to reduce import dependency.
Throughout the project, students were guided by mentors and researchers with backgrounds in sustainability, mechanical engineering and agricultural climatology. They encouraged participants to think globally but act locally—to design solutions that can be applied directly in the field rather than remain theoretical.
As one mentor told the group, policymaking is ultimately about people. “When you think of policy, think of humans and their challenges. Whatever design you’re thinking of, ask: how can it work in the field?”
About 25 students took part in the month-long challenge, many from disciplines far removed from agriculture. That diversity, organisers say, is what gave the discussions energy—combining perspectives from technology, business, science and data analysis.
The India Policy and Economy Research Club plans to keep building on this foundation, creating more opportunities for students to engage with global development issues and propose solutions that could be tested and refined in real-world contexts.
By linking classroom learning with practical policymaking, the initiative shows how students can bring fresh thinking to some of the world’s oldest challenges—and how those ideas, with the right support, could one day help shape the future of food security.
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