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Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL)

Last updated : July 23rd, 2020 01:12 pm

Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL)

Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) vide its gazette notification dated 7th July 2020 has extended the Operation Greens Scheme to include all fruits and vegetables (TOTAL) beyond tomato, onions, and potatoes (TOP) announced earlier. As a part of the scheme, the Government provides a 50% subsidy for transportation and storage of eligible crops. Also, inter-state trade will be made barrier-free and e-trade of farm product will be facilitated by the government as per the scheme. With this notification, the MoFPI also announced new guidelines of Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL) scheme and online procedure to claim the subsidy. The Present article briefs the eligibility and new guidelines to claim subsidy under the Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL).

Importance of MoFPI Notification

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown, farmers are not being able to sell their produce in the markets. This is leading to distress sales and a reduction in prices of fruits and vegetables. Considering the situation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an extension on the Operation Greens scheme as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The gist of the MoFPI’s notification is as follows:

The MoFPI announced that with this notification the Operation Greens scheme will be extended from Tomatoes, Onion, and Potatoes (TOP) to ALL fruits and vegetables (TOTAL)
As part of the Scheme, 50% subsidy will be provided for transportation of crops from surplus production to deficient markets and storage, including cold storages
The duration of the Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL) is extended for six months from the date of notification i.e., 11/06/2020.

Operation Greens Scheme (TOP)

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) had launched the Operation Green scheme in the Union Budget of 2018-2019 for integrated growth and development of Tomatoes, Onions, and Potatoes (TOP) value chain.

The key objective of the scheme was introduced to help reduce post-harvest losses for farmers by creating farm gate infrastructure, support development of suitable agro-logistics, and help in the creation of storage capacity linking consumption centres.

Know more about the Operation Greens Scheme

Operation Greens Scheme (TOTAL)

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) extended the Operation Green scheme as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan for integrated growth and development of ‘TOP’ (Tomatoes, Onions, and Potatoes) to now ‘TOTAL’ (covering all fruits and vegetables in totality).

The extension of this operation greens scheme will implement a standard mechanism for predictive pricing, create a legal framework to help farmers to fix their price and provide a fair price for farmers and assure price return quantity before sowing.

The scheme will further increase the availability of farming technology and selling opportunities for farmers and they can sell fresh produce at attractive prices. Also, inter-state trade will be made barrier-free and e-trade of farm produce will be facilitated by the government as per the scheme.

The objective of Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL)

The objective of Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL) scheme is to protect the growers of fruits and vegetables from making distress sale due to COVID 19 lockdown and to reduce the post-harvest losses.

Eligible Crops under Operation Greens

As per the extended Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL) scheme, following fruits and vegetables are eligible under the Scheme:

Eligible Fruits: Mango, Banana, Guava, Kiwi, Litchi, Papaya, Citrus, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Jackfruit, Apple, Almond, Aonla, Passion fruit, Pear

EligibleVegetables: French beans, Bitter Gourd, Brinjal, Capsicum, Carrot, Cauliflower, Chillies (Green), Okra, Onion, Potato, Tomato, Cucumber, Peas

To know more about the list of eligible crops, selected surplus production clusters, and trigger price for intervention under the scheme, kindly find the document attached here.

approved_list_of_crop_cluster_and_trigger_price_0

Eligible entities for Operation Greens

The entities engaged in processing/ marketing of fruits and vegetables are eligible under the Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL) Scheme:

Food Processors
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO)/ Farmer producer company (FPC)
Co-operative Societies
Individual farmers
Licensed Commission Agent
Exporters
State Marketing/Co-operative Federation
Retailers

Pattern of Assistance

The Ministry of Food Processing industry will provide subsidy at a rate of 50 % of the cost of the following two components.

Transportation of eligible crops from surplus production cluster to consumption centre
The hiring of appropriate storage facilities for eligible crops, it will be available for a maximum period of 3 months

Note: Any incidental expenses or taxes, such as GST and other taxes levied at State/Central level will not be considered for subsidy.

Maximum Admissible Subsidy Amount

The maximum admissible subsidy amount under the Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL) Scheme is Rs. 1 crore during the entire period of 6 months. For Food Processors, the eligible quantity of procurement of crops for subsidy purposes will be capped concerning the installed capacity of the processing plant.

Eligible Production Cluster

The list of districts for each crop mentioned in Serial No. 7.5 of Horticulture Statistics at Glance 2018 published by Ministry of Agriculture will be taken as eligible production clusters subject to meeting the criterion of essential conditions

To know more about the Eligible Production Cluster, click here

Essential conditions to Avail Subsidy

The eligible condition to avail the subsidy under the Operation Greens Scheme is as follows:

Price of the Commodity

Price in the notified production clusters should meet any one of the following conditions:

Price fall below preceding 3 years’ average market price at the time of harvest
The price fall more than 15% compared to last year market price at the time of harvest
The price fall less than the benchmark price for procurement, if any, fixed by the State/Central Government for a specified period;

Eligible Criterion for Procurement

To get the benefit under the scheme, the vegetable/fruits need to be directly procured from farmers; FPO/FPC, Co-operative Society or Licensed Commission Agent and payment should be made only through banking channel;

Quantity for Procurement

Minimum quantity to be procured and transported/stored per applicant will be as under:

Sl.No	Entity	Quantity Details
1	FPO/FPC, Co-operative, Individual farmers	100 MT
2	Food Processor, Exporter, Licensed Commission Agent	500 MT
3	Retailers, State Marketing/Co-operative Federation	1,000 MT

Eligible Criterion for Transportation

The minimum distance from notified surplus production clusters to consumption centre, processing plant, retail outlet, or ports/ airport/ Inland Container Depots (ICD)/ Container freight station (CFS) in India:

Sl.No	Entity	Minimum Distance
1	FPO/FPC, Co-operative, Individual farmers Food Processor, Exporter, Licensed Commission Agent	100 Km
2	Retailers, State Marketing/Co-operative Federation	250 Km

Payment for transportation and storage charges should be made only through the banking channel to avail of the benefit under the scheme.

No application should be made after completion of three months from the date of the Transport or Storage invoice.

Documents Required

The applicant needs to submit the following documents to avail the subsidy under the scheme Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL) scheme:

Purchase Invoice for eligible crops from the notified production cluster
Farmer’s detail from who crop has been procured
Sale/Transfer Invoice for the eligible crop to consumption centre, plant, port or retail outlet
Transport Invoice and Receipt, and other relevant documents showing payment made for the transportation of crops such as Weighbridge receipts, Toll plaza receipt, Geo-tag photographs (with truck number date and time)
Storage Invoice and Receipt showing payment made for the storage of the crop such as Weighbridge receipts, Geo-tag photographs (with truck number, date and time), Rent/Lease Agreement
Copy of bank statement showing payment made to the farmers, transport charge and/or storage charge;

Submission of a Claim for Subsidy

Eligible entities, who comply with the aforesaid essential criteria may undertake the transportation and/or storage of notified crops from notified surplus production cluster, without any prior approval from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and submit the claim on the official website of MoFPI.

Note: The applicant should register on the MoFPI portal before carrying out transportation or storage of fruits and vegetables.

From the home page click on the Atamnirbhar Bharat Package, the link will redirect to the subsidy claim form of the Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL) scheme.