In News:

The government’s flagship Operation Greens scheme, designed to stabilise crop prices and benefit farmers, has spent just 34 per cent of its allocated budget for 2024-25, according to a parliamentary report, even as onion farmers in Maharashtra reel from massive losses and potato shortages grip eastern states.

Key Highlights:

Overview:

• Launched: November 2018 under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana.
• Objective: Stabilize prices and improve farmers' income by enhancing the production and marketing of perishable crops, initially focusing on Tomato, Onion, and Potato (TOP).
• Expanded Scope (2021): Includes 22 perishable crops like mango, banana, ginger, apple, and shrimp.
• Implemented by: Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI).
• Funding: Managed by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).

Key Aims:

• Reduce price volatility in agricultural markets.
• Minimize post-harvest losses.
• Strengthen farm-to-market linkages.
• Enhance farmers’ earnings by stabilizing market prices.
• Promote value addition and food processing.

Scheme Components:

• Short-term Interventions:
  • Subsidies on transportation (50%) and storage (50%) to protect farmers from distress sales.
  • Price stabilization during periods of surplus or shortage.
• Long-term Interventions:
  • Development of farm-gate infrastructure like cold storage and processing facilities.
  • Strengthening production clusters and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).
  • Building efficient agri-logistics systems.
  • Promoting food processing and value addition capacities.

Key Features:

• 50% subsidy on transportation and storage costs for eligible crops.
• Projects eligible for 50% subsidy (up to ?50 crore per project), and for FPOs, a 70% subsidy.
• Demand-driven funding based on applications, with no fixed crop or state-wise allocation.

Key Findings from Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) Report (2024):

• Underutilisation of Budget: Only 34% (?59.44 crore) of the allocated ?173.40 crore for 2024-25 spent by October 2024, leaving 65.73% unspent.
• Slow Implementation: Out of 10 targeted projects, only 3 were completed by October 2024.
• Limited Impact on Price Stabilization:
  • Onion prices fell by nearly 50% in Maharashtra, despite the scheme's intent to stabilize prices.
  • Potato shortages in states like Odisha and Jharkhand due to weather-induced production dips in West Bengal.
• Inconsistent Policies: Export bans and fluctuating export duties caused frustration among onion farmers, undermining the scheme’s effectiveness in ensuring fair prices.

Impact on Farmers:

• Price Stabilization: Despite the scheme’s aims, price fluctuations continue to affect farmers, especially in Maharashtra with the onion price crash.
• Post-Harvest Losses: The scheme aims to reduce wastage by building infrastructure like cold storage, but challenges remain in implementation.
• Market Linkages: Attempts to connect farmers and FPOs with retail markets have not yet yielded significant results.

Operational Challenges:

• The scheme faces challenges in fulfilling its dual mandate of ensuring fair prices for farmers while keeping consumer prices affordable.
• The slow utilization of funds and incomplete infrastructure projects raise concerns about the effectiveness of the program.
• Inconsistent policy decisions, like the export ban and imposition of export duties, have contributed to farmer discontent.