Kerala fixes floor price for 16 vegetables

Our Correspondent 

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that Kerala has become the first state in the country to fix the floor price for vegetables. He said this while launching the scheme announcing the floor price for 16 varieties of vegetables. The scheme would come into effect from November 1, 2020.

In his address through video-conferencing, the Chief Minister said, “This is the first time the floor price is being fixed for vegetables produced in the state and this is the first for a state in the country also. This is going to provide relief as well as support for the farmers. Farmers across the country are not satisfied but for the last four and half years, we have supported the farmers and the government has taken up several initiatives primarily targeted at the development of agriculture in the State. The floor price will be 20 per cent above the production cost of the vegetable. Even if the market price goes below the floor price, the produce will be procured at the floor price from the farmers. The produce will be graded as per the quality and the floor price will be fixed based on the quality. Sixteen varieties of vegetables would be covered in the first phase and there is a provision to revise the floor price on a regular basis.”

LSG bodies will have an important role to play in this scheme as they would be coordinating the procurement and distribution of vegetables. The scheme would benefit a farmer with a maximum of 15 acres of vegetable cultivation per season. They can register on the agriculture department’s registration portal after insuring the crop to get the benefit of the floor price. The registration would start from November 01. The scheme also envisages setting up the entire supply chain process like cold storage facilities and refrigerated vehicles for transporting the produce.

The Chief Minister also said that the vegetable production in the State has more than doubled in the last four and a half years, from 7 lakh metric tonnes to 14.72 lakh metric tonnes. The target is to increase the production by an additional 1 lakh metric tonne each of vegetables and tuber crops this year.