Kerala announces floor-price for 16 vegetables, scheme to kick off on November 1

Bengaluru: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday announced floor price for vegetables as part of the government’s measures to bail out farmers hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic, declaring that his is the first state in the country to do so.

The scheme covers 16 varieties of vegetables grown in Kerala, and the new scheme will kick off from November 1.

The chief minister said the floor prices will provide relief as well as support for the vegetable growers. “Farmers across the country are not satisfied but for the last four and half years, we have supported the farmers and the government has taken up several initiatives primarily targeted at the development of agriculture in the state.”


The floor price will be 20% above the production cost of the vegetables. Even if the market price goes below the floor price, the produce will be bought at the floor price from the farmers. The produce will be graded as per the quality and the floor price will be fixed based on the quality. Sixteen varieties of vegetables would be covered in the first phase, and there is a provision to revise the floor price on a regular basis, he said.

Local self government (LSG) bodies will have an important role to play in implementing the scheme as they would be coordinating for the procurement and distribution of vegetables. The scheme would benefit farmers with a maximum of 15-acre plot of vegetable cultivation per season. They can register on the agriculture department’s registration portal after taking insurance for the crop to get the benefit of the floor price.

The registration would start from November 1. The scheme also provides for setting up the entire supply chain process like cold storage facilities and refrigerated vehicles for transporting the produce.

The chief minister also said that the vegetable production in the State has more than doubled in the last four and a half years, from 7 lakh metric tonnes to 14.72 lakh metric tonnes. The target is to increase the production by an additional 1 lakh metric tonne each of vegetables and tuber crops this year.