New Delhi: Agriculture experts have the need for improving real-time data system, warehouse and food processing units to deal with falling prices of Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP).
Suggesting development of concrete infrastructure to support farmers, agriculture expert and farmer Dharmendra Malik told ETV Bharat, “There is no real-time data for assessment of demand and supply which impact farmers' produce. If the government uses real-time data than it will get a better idea of crop production. In 2018-19, the government had introduced Green Mission to save TOP crops and announced to setup cold storages but the same has not been implemented at ground level even after several years. First of all, the government should fix a minimum price for TOP so that compensation for crop loss can be assessed."
Agriculture expert Naresh Sirohi told ETV Bharat, “To save the vegetable and fruit farmers, the government should focus on establishing Food technology technologies and food processing units. If government notices fall in prices of TOP crops, then it should intervene and buy the agri-produce from the farmers to save them. The government can use the produce in food processing units." The experts suggested that the government should improve real-time data, warehouses and food processing units to deal with falling prices of TOP to support farmers which will be more effective for the agriculture sector as well as processing industry.
The farmers had responded to the government’s recent decision to implement the transportation component of Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), under which if there is a difference in the price of TOP crops between the producing and consuming states, the operational cost incurred in storage and transportation of crops from the producing state to other consuming states will be reimbursed to Central Nodal Agencies (CNA) like NAFED and NCCF, in the interest of farmers of producing states. Considering the steep drop in tomato prices, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had approved implementation of the transportation component of MIS for Tomato in Madhya Pradesh through NCCF. NCCF is making arrangements to start the transportation operations soon. A farmer of Uttar Pradesh Amarpal Pal told ETV Bharat, "We have to bear losses during more TOP production and low price. In such situations, the farmers need support from the government. The farmers expect the government to forward to save them by buying their produce."
As per data, till July, 2023, Food Corporation of India has a network of 1923 of warehouses (Owned/Hired) with a capacity of 371.93 LMT for storage of Central Pool foodgrains.
New warehouses
In order to address the shortage of storage capacity for food grains in the country, the government on May 31, 2023, approved the “World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector”, which has been rolled out as a Pilot Project.
Agri infrastructure
The plan entails creation of various agri infrastructure at PACS level, including warehouses, custom hiring center, processing units, Fair Price Shops, etc through convergence of various existing schemes of the Government of India such as, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), and Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME).
