Then what is the major reason in case of rice. Statista link is behind paywall

> Yet only around 4.6-6% of total post harvest grain was lost due to storage reasons

This only accounts for the loss after the grain is procured and not the loss between harvest and procurement. Given the practical challenges of measuring this, I doubt there's any quality data. I can only speak anecdotally but news reports about losses from poor makeshift storage arrangements while waiting for procurement are frustratingly common.

Hence the futures markets.

The more markets worldwide connect to balance out local weather issues the more predictable the outcome. The problem however is international cooperation when there's global shortages.

The problem is as old as agriculture itself and we've known the solution too for millinea: Store surpluses that can be used in lean years.

But in India procurement, storage and sale of agricultural produce are all wrapped up in a maze of Byzantine laws. As a result, availability of financing and infrastructure is abysmal. The first modern rice silos in the country are only expected to start operations in the next month or so.

Having no buyers is economics. The supply vastly exceeded demand. There were no buyers, private or otherwise because there was glut. Telangana is an arid region. The recent jump in rice production is thanks to the new irrigation projects in the state.

The scrapped farm laws were ill-considered and I'll framed. Fun fact: Both, the Produce Trade and Commerce Act and the Agreement on Price Assurance Act expressly barred the jurisdiction of courts in entertaining disputes relating to farming disputes and instead gave authority to the local Collector to arbitrate. That's blatant and shameless executive overreach. And that's not even going into the fact that these Union laws intrude on what is explicitly a State subject.

Depends entirely on the foodstuffs in question. Rice can be kept for around 10 years at 70f if you control moisture. If you can control for oxygen, it can last even longer at temps well above freezing. Corn and soybeans are more sensitive to temperature than rice, but the major factor is still moisture and oxygen exposure.

It reminds me a bit of the game Oxygen Not Included where early food storage techniques involve keeping it stored in an area saturated with CO2 to reduce the rate at which it rots before you have access to refrigeration.

I presume this would not be viable at the scale required for the people who need is most. (And zero kelvin is impractically cold)

Well, yes, it obviously is and there is no need to go that low. Don’t you have a freezer at your place?

Technically food in a cold enough freezer will never get uneatable. It is indeed flash frozen to preserve its texture. The issue is that quality tends to get down with time due to water sublimation.

Will preserved old rice tastes better than freshly harvested rice. Old rice is normally sold at a premium and preservation is much more simple.