Lok Sabha Question No. 2448 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-09
Subject: Sale of Perishable Products at Low Prices
Ministry: FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Asked by: Bhavana Gawali (Patil), Krupal Balaji Tumane

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2448

ANSWERED ON 09 TH  MARCH, 2021

## SALE OF PERISHABLE PRODUCTS AT LOW PRICES

## 2448.   SHRIMATI BHAVANA PUNDALIKRAO GAWALI; SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE;

Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether due to non-availability of the market during COVID period, the farmers were forced to sell the perishable fruits and vegetables at a low price which led to reduction in  the  price  of  the  perishable  fruits  and  vegetables  especially  at  the  farm  level  in Maharashtra;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has recently formulated any scheme under Operation Green to stop the sale at low prices and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the  number  of  farmers  likely  to  be  benefited  under  this  scheme  especially  in Maharashtra?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a) & (b): During lockdown, APMC markets were opened with social distancing and sanitary protocols to avoid spread of novel corona virus. Further, in order to facilitate sale of agriculture produce  including  perishable  produce  during  the  Covid-19,  the  Government  had  issued advisories  to  States/Union  Territories  (UTs)  to  facilitate  Direct  Marketing  and  allow  tradetransactions outside the mandi-yards by liberalizing regulations to decongest the mandis as well as to facilitate direct buying of farmers' produce from their farm gate at remunerative prices.

The Government also issued advisories to States/UTs to ensure inter-state and intrastate movement of vehicles carrying the agriculture produce in addition to setting up of monitoring cell  to  keep  watch  and  extend  immediate  help  for  seamless  movement  of  such  vehicles including coordination for issue of permits to trucks. States also made various arrangements including  nomination  of  nodal  officer  for  coordination  and  setting  up  monitoring  cell  to facilitate free movement of vehicles carrying fruits, vegetables and other essential food items.

Further, to address the transportation issues of Farmers and other stake holders during Covid-19, the Government has launched the Kisan Rath Mobile App on 17.04.2020.  The App facilitates the Farmers, FPOs and Traders to post their load requests which are sent to transport aggregators and individual transporters who can respond to the load requests.

To  ensure  the  continuous  supply  of  essential  goods,  hindrance  free  movement  of transportation & real time monitoring of supply & prices, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare  had  created  a  Whatsapp  group  in  coordination  with  senior  officials  from  State Agriculture Marketing Boards (SAMBs) to monitor the functioning of APMCs, monitor supply &  price  of  essential  goods  &  facilitate  inter-state  transportation  of  essential  goods  during COVID-19 lockdown.

(c) & (d): Yes Sir, in pursuance of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, subsidy at the rate of 50% for  transportation  and  storage  under  price  stabilization  measures  has  been  extended  from Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) crops to a total of 41 notified horticulture crops (TOTAL) for a period of six months, if prices fall below the average prices for last three years or 15% below of previous year's price. The timelines of the scheme were further extended upto 31.03.2021.

Further, transportation subsidy under the scheme is extended to all fruits and vegetables through Kisan Rail by way of charging 50% of their freight charges by Indian Railways.

Scheme guidelines also provide the transportation subsidy to all Fruits and Vegetables being transported by air from the NER and Himalayan Region States, by way of charging 50% freight  by  Airlines  and  to  provide  50%  subsidy  to  eligible  entities  through  NAFED  for transportation and/or storage of apple from Jammu and Kashmir.

From Maharashtra State, 117 number of production clusters for the different horticulture crops namely Bitter gourd, Brinjal, Capsicum, Cauliflower, Cucumber, Chilies (Green), Onion, Tomato, Beans, Okra, Orange, Lime, Banana, Guava, Mango, Papaya and Pomegranate  crops have been notified in the 'List of eligible crops, selected surplus production clusters & trigger price'  for  intervention  under  the  extended  Operation  Greens  Scheme.  The  farmers  from Maharashtra can register on the online portal and can submit the claim for subsidy after meeting the  eligibility  criteria  stipulated  in  the  scheme  guidelines.  So  far,  1002  persons  from Maharashtra  have  registered  on  the  portal.  Out  of  52  proposals  received  from  the  State  of Maharashtra for transport/storage subsidy, 16 proposals have been approved.

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