Operation Greens is a project approved by the
Ministry of Food Processing Industries
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) is a ministry of the Government of India responsible for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to food processing in India. The ministry was set up in the ye ...
with the target to stabilise the supply of
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
,
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
and
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
crops (TOP crops) in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, as well as to ensure their availability around the country, year-round without
price volatility. It was first introduced in the 2018-2019
Union budget of India
The Union Budget of India, also referred to as the ''Annual Financial Statement'' in Article 112 of the Constitution of India, is the annual budget of the Republic of India. The Government presents it on the first day of February so that it coul ...
,
and has been allocated Rs 500 crores to promote farmer producers' organisations (FPOs), agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional management.
Introduction and objectives
The operation was first introduced by the
Finance Minister of India
The Minister of Finance (Vitta Mantrī ) (or simply, the Finance Minister, short form FM) is the head of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India. One of the senior offices of the Union Cabinet, the finance minister is responsible for ...
,
Arun Jaitley
Arun Jaitley (28 December 1952 – 24 August 2019) was an Indian politician and attorney. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Jaitley served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India from 2014 to 2019. Jait ...
while presenting the 2018-2019 Union budget. It intended to stabilise the supply of tomatoes, onions and potato crops. Union Minister,
Harsimrat Kaur Badal
Harsimrat Kaur Badal (born 25 July 1966) is an Indian politician and a former Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Government of India and Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Bathinda. She is a member of Shiromani ...
has stated that "price volatility of TOP crops wreaks havoc in the households of this country" and that "we have decided the strategy to stabilise prices of TOP crops and to make sure that TOP crops reach all households in the country round the year".
TOP crops are considered a regular food commodity across India, but production declined in 2017-18 compared to the previous year despite a 4.5% increase on overall horticulture production. In an attempt to increase and stabilise the production of these crops, Operation Greens was introduced with the following objectives:
The operation aims to replicate the success of the increase in production of milk in India through the implementation of
Operation Flood
Operation Flood, launched on 13 January 1970, was the world's largest dairy development program and a landmark project of India's National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). It transformed India from a milk-deficient nation into the world's larges ...
.
The operation will also aid in India's goal of doubling farmer's income by the year 2022.
Strategy
The strategy to meeting the objectives has been split into two components: short term price stabilisation measures and long term integrated
value chain
A value chain is a progression of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product (i.e., good and/or service) to the end customer. The concept comes through business management and was firs ...
development projects.
Short term price stabilisation measures
The
is the principal agency placed in charge of implementing the price stabilisation measures. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries will be providing 50% of the subsidy for:
* the transportation of TOP crops from farms to storage centres.
* the hiring of storage facilities for use by TOP crops.
As part of price stabilisation measures, if prices fall below preceding 3-years average market price at the time of harvest, the evacuation of surplus production from the producing area to consumption centres will be undertaken. A dedicated agency will also be formed to monitor market intelligence, provide demand forecasts and be an advisory to farmers on future prices in relation to TOP crops in order to monitor the supply scenario and implement timely market intervention where necessary.
These measures have been put in place in the hopes that by subsidising the costs, farmers will be able to turn a higher profit. When the production of such crops increase, prices collapse and farmers do not have enough storage capacity and links to organised retailing is small. As such, farmers generally get paid only a quarter of what consumers pay.
The aim is to increase profits for the farmers by reducing losses post-harvest in the hope that this will stabilise the supply of crops.
Long term integrated value chain development projects
The long term integrated value chain development projects are:
* capacity building of FPOs - formation of new FPOs, subject to a maximum limit of 5% of the total eligible project cost.
* quality production - provision for quality input such as seeds, setting up of protected cultivation, mechanisation of farm practises and promoting contract farming.
* post-harvest processing facilities - providing appropriate transportation infrastructure from farm to facility, as well as primary and secondary processing.
* agri-logistics - allow for infrastructure to check for sudden spikes in prices, as well as providing the infrastructure of storage facilities for various regions.
* marketing and consumption points - the creation of e-markets and setting up of retail outlets and sorting, grading and packaging facilities.
* creation and management of an e-platform for managing the demand and supply of TOP crops.
The aim of these projects is to reduce the post-harvest losses through the development of infrastructure which can be used by farmers long-term.
Farmers in production clusters will be organised into FPOs to manage production, post-harvest activities, value addition and marketing of TOP produce.
Pattern of assistance
The project includes grants at 50% of eligible project costs in all areas and 70% for FPOs, however, it is capped at a maximum of Rs 50 crores per project.
References
{{Reflist
History of agriculture in India
Agriculture in India
Government schemes in India