The Food Processing Ministry on Monday issued guidelines for Operation Greens, an initiative announced in the Budget with an outlay of ₹500 crore.
The programme aims to stabilise the supply of tomato, onion and potato crops (TOP) and to ensure their availability through the year without price volatility.
As part of the short-term stabilisation measures, the Food Processing Ministry will provide 50 per cent subsidy for the transport of these crops from production to storage, and for hiring appropriate storage facilities. NAFED will be the nodal agency to implement these price stabilisation measures.
The Ministry will also give financial assistance for long-term integrated value chain development projects which aim at capacity building of Farmer Producers Organisation (FPO) and their consortia, ensuring quality production, post-harvest processing facilities, agri-logistics as well development of marketing and consumption points besides the creation of an e-platform for demand and supply management of TOP crops.
“The pattern of assistance will comprise of grants-in-aid at the rate of 50 per cent of the eligible project cost in all areas, subject to maximum ₹50 crore per project. However, in cases where the project implementation agency are farmer producers’ organisations, the grant-in-aid will be at the rate of 70 per cent of the eligible project cost in all areas, subject to maximum ₹50 crore per project,” an official statement said.
The government has identified various tomato, onion and potato clusters in the country for this initiative.