Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the floor price of 16 varieties of vegetables produced in the state would come into effect from 1st November. He said the state would be first in India to do so to ensure a fair price for growers.
It must be noted that the floor price will be 20 percent above the production cost of the vegetables. If the market rate goes below the floor price then also the produce will be obtained from farmers at the floor price. In addition the produce & the floor price will be graded as per its quality.
This scheme will benefit a grower with a maximum of 15 acres of vegetable cultivation per season. For this, they will have to register on the agriculture department’s website after insuring the crop to get the benefit of floor price. The registration will begin on 1 November.
Local bodies will play an important role in this scheme as they will coordinate for the procurement & distribution of veggies. They will be authorised to spend from the viability gap fund to cover the losses. Morover the scheme envisages establishing the entire supply chain process like cold storage facilities & refrigerated vehicles for transporting the produce.
Vijayan said that the vegetable production in Kerala has more than doubled in the past four-and-a-half years, from 7 lakh metric tonnes to 14.72 lakh metric tonnes. And this year the target is to increase the output by an additional 1 lakh metric tonne each of vegetables & tuber crops.
Complete list of floor price of vegetables (per kg)
Cucumber (Rs 8)
Tomato (Rs 8)
Ash gourd (Rs 9)
Cabbage (Rs 11)
Tapioca (Rs 12)
Pineapple (Rs 15)
Snake gourd (Rs 16)
Lady's finger (Rs 20)
Potato (Rs 20)
Carrot (Rs 21)
Beetroot (Rs 21)
Wayanad banana (Rs 24)
Beans (Rs 28)
Banana (Rs 30)
Bitter gourd (Rs 30)
Long beans (Rs 34)
