India needs to make farming profitable and curb food inflation
According to an article on clipper28.com, the emphasis during the two-day Summit was on the need to start an ‘Operation Veggies’ , a programme for pushing forward the production of at least tomatoes, onions and potatoes, the most commonly consumed vegetables in the country.
From its inception in 1970, ‘ Operation Flood’ made India the leading producer of milk. Now a new ‘Operation Veggies’ should not be just about increasing production; the focus should also be on the creation of storage facilities and ensuring last-mile linkages so that farmers get proper prices for their produce. Indian farmers sometimes get barely 20 to 30 percent of the price paid by the end consumers.
A proper incentive structure should be devised to make farming profitable. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s government has set a target to double farmer incomes by 2022. The government has outlined a seven-point strategy to double farmer incomes in the coming seven years.
