1st to fix floor price for greens: Vijayan

Kerala on Tuesday became the first state to fix the floor price for vegetables, which would be 20% above the production cost, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Tuesday.

The scheme would come into effect from November 1, he said. Launching the scheme online, he said this was the first time the floor price was being fixed for 16 varietiesof vegetables produced in Kerala.

This was also the first such initiative by any state which would provide relief and support to farmers, he said.

The floor price would be 20 per cent above the production cost of the vegetables, he said in an official release.

Even if the market price went below this, the produce would be procured at the floor price from farmers.

The vegetables would be graded as per the quality and the floor price fixed accordingly, he said.

"Farmers across the country are not satisfied...but for the last four and half years, we have supported them .

The government has taken up several initiatives primarily targeted at the development of agriculture in the state," the CM said, adding, 16 varieties of vegetables would be covered in the first phase and there was a provision to revise the floor price on a regular basis.

Local self govt bodies would play a vital role in this scheme as they would be coordinating procurement and distribution of vegetables, he said. The scheme would benefit a farmer with a maximum of 15 acres of vegetable cultivation per season. They can register on the agri dept registration portal from Nov 1 after insuring the crop to get the benefit of the scheme.