Delhi, 30th December 2022: Operation Green has been successful in maintaining the supply of vegetables. It has helped curb the high volatility of prices in the market throughout the year. Work has started on about three dozen projects of Operation Green, the results of which are visible from farmers’ fields to the commodity market. Over two and a half thousand crores are estimated to be spent on these projects. The help of other ministries is also being taken in these projects related to farmers and consumers.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is the first of the two major components of the Operation Green Scheme, which is a short-term government subsidy of 50 per cent of the cost of transportation of produce from farmers’ farms to markets to stabilize prices. The long-term strategy is being adopted in the second component. In this, the emphasis is on transporting various raw crops and fruits to the market and preserving them for a long time.
The Ministries of Agriculture, Food, Consumer Affairs, Food Processing, Railways and Civil Aviation are making joint efforts to make Operation Green a success. At present, 22 other crops have also been included in Operation Green along with the three main vegetables identified earlier – tomato, onion and potato (TOP).
Private sector companies were invited in November 2022 for the projects prepared for both the components of Operation Green. 56 applications were received; 46 have been approved in the first phase. The total cost of these projects is estimated to be more than Rs 22 crore. In these, the private sector has invested more than 1,752 crores. This will increase the total food processing capacity by 8.25 lakh tonnes, while the cold storage capacity of 1.81 lakh tonnes of perishables will be expanded.
Since the implementation of Operation Green, there has been an ease in the supply of fruits and vegetables from one end of the country to the other. 50 per cent subsidy in transportation has kept the prices under control. Apart from this, the activity of the food processing industry sector has increased in the market to prevent the prices from falling at the time of production. Concession is also being given on transportation by Kisan Rail, Kisan Udan and other resources. Apart from this, increasing cold chain facilities have also helped in controlling the market. This has benefited the farmers as well as the consumers.
PMKSY was started in 2018, the results of which are now visible. Potato, onion and tomato have helped contain the windfall. There is a provision of 35 to 50 per cent subsidy on value chain development projects.