The Ministry of Food Processing Industries have seen its allocations double to Rs 1400 crore in Budget 2018. The ministry has initiated consultations with stakeholders to draw the outlines of ‘Operations Green’ , which lays special attention to ending distress sale by tomato , onion and potato (TOP) and farmers.
About Rs 500 crore has been specially earmarked in the budget to provide incentives for providing forward and backward linkages and infrastructures for preservation and processing of these crops availed by both the rich and poor ,said Badal.
The cornerstone of the scheme for tomato , onion and potato processors announced in this year’s budget , lies in the government identifying the right agro zones as clusters for particular crops.
In recent years , price fluctuations in onions have caused distress among farmers and the middle-class consumers. Potato farmers in Agra and other places of Uttar Pradesh have laid to waste their entire crop on highways after a price crash.
Badal’s ministry has also been mandated in the budget this year, to establish specialised Agro Processing Financial Institutions with banks.
The ministry has set itself a target of setting the ball rolling in this direction by at least releasing primary advertisements inviting banks , by April this year , Badal said.
Asked if the government could allocate some funds from the scheme to provide a corpus for food processing industries , the minister said it is being considered.
Badal said that the quantum of loan assistance to be provided to this fund deprived sector would be fixed soon. Banks would be expected to create special lending institutions under the scheme , dedicated for the food processing industry.