THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Kerala chief minister
Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Tuesday the
floor price
for 16 varieties of
vegetables
. Kerala, he said, thus becomes the first state in the country to fix a floor price for vegetables. The scheme comes into effect from November 1.
“This would be a huge relief to farmers… the state has supported its farmers by adopting several initiatives for the development of the
agriculture sector,” he said in a video conference.
Generally, a base price is provided for pulses and food grains, and not for perishables such as fruits and vegetables. The floor price will be 20% above production cost. Even if the market price drops below floor price, the produce will be procured at floor price from farmers. The produce will be graded according to 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,” Pinarayi said.
Local bodies would have an important role to play as they would be coordinating 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.