ABSTRACT
Cereal crops including rice are grown at best once or twice in a year. But being the staple food of humankind, they are required all the year round. Therefore, cereal grains have to undergo long storage for up to a year or more. The character of cereal grains too is suitable for their long storage. As explained in Chapters 3 and 4, food grains tend to be in equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere. It means food grains are low-moisture food and hence can be stored for long periods without appreciable deterioration. This ability of cereals being stored for long periods is of fundamental importance to human civilisation, being the basis of providing food security to humankind.
