MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
???? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)
(a) & (b): Government of India had exempted all agriculture related activities to facilitate selling of agricultural produce by farmers during lock down period. Moreover, Government of India had also started Special Parcel Trains to transport farm produces and essential items including horticulture produce to various intra and interstate locations. Subsequently, Government of India has started dedicated Kisan Rail with effect from 07-08-2020 only for transportation of agriculture and horticulture produce in the country.
Details of sale and the steps taken by the Government of Assam for providing compensation to the farmers are as follows:
Status of Sale of Fruits and vegetables during lock down period due to COVID-19 from 24/03/2020 to 25/07/2020
1 Total Sale of Fruits & Vegetables within State 683.00 Crores
2 Total Sale of Fruits & Vegetables outside the State 169.00 Crores
3 Total Numbers of Vendors allowed 5037 numbers
Government of Assam has reported that the State Government had fixed the standard sale price to help in stabilizing the sale price of fruits and vegetables during the lockdown period due to COVID-19 Pandemic. In addition to that, Government of Assam has engaged Farmers’ Vendors to transport agricultural produce from farmer’s field to consumers’ doorstep which avoids distress and loss of fruits and vegetables.
(c) & (d): A study on All India Cold-chain Infrastructure Capacity (AICIC-2015) carried out by NABARD Consultancy Service (NABCONS) assessed requirement of 71996 MT capacity of cold storage for perishable fruits and vegetables in State of Assam. Currently, there are 39 cold storages with capacity of 178096 MT have been established in the State of Assam with the financial assistance provided under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Horticulture Board (NHB) and Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) .
(e): Government does not setup cold storage of its own. However, Government is implementing various schemes under which financial assistance is provided for setting up of cold storages for storage of agriculture produce including perishable horticulture produce throughout the country including Assam.
Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare is implementing Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) under which financial assistance is provided for various horticulture activities including setting up of cold storages. The component is demand/entrepreneur driven for which Government assistance in the form of credit linked back ended subsidy is available at the rate of 35% of the project cost in general areas and at the rate of 50% of the project cost in hilly and scheduled areas. The scheme is available for all States/UTs including the State of Assam.
Further, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing the Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure as one of the component of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana with the objective of reducing post-harvest losses of horticulture and non-horticulture produce and providing remunerative price to farmers for their produce. Under the scheme, Ministry provides financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid at the rate of 35% for general areas and 50% for North East States, Himalayan States, ITDP areas and Islands for storage and transport infrastructure and at the rate of 50% and 75% respectively for value addition and processing infrastructure subject to a maximum grant-in-aid of Rs. 10 crore per project for setting up integrated cold chain projects including irradiation facility without any break from the farm gate to the consumer. Standalone cold storages are not covered under the Scheme. The scheme is available for all States/UTs including the State of Assam.
*******
Download PDF Files
