Even when the prices of cereals and milk goes up the change is never sudden or steep, because the government and the NDDB have a measure of control over these commodities. However when it comes to tomatoes, onions, and potatoes, the spike is sudden and has an immediate impact on household expenditure. These days, they are described by the acronym TOP – and the prices of each of these commodities, especially onions has literally brought tears to the eyes of the ‘ruling party’, and two regime changes took place in the NCT of Delhi on account of the failure of the government to provide onions at affordable prices.
To be fair, the volatility in the prices of onions and tomatoes is much higher than in the case of potatoes. The reason is the well-developed cold chain and logistics infrastructure for potato cold stores in the major potato producing states of UP, MP, Punjab, and West Bengal. This gives potatoes a longer shelf life, and the supply chains are not subject to any major disruption. However, the infrastructure for onions and tomatoes is not that well developed, and therefore even a slender change in rainfall pattern affects their production and supply. Fortunately, the road network is much better today than it was a decade ago, and therefore, the volumes lost to perishability have come down. However, we are still a long way to go before a robust logistics chain can be built to transport these commodities across the country.
The point being made is that while the emphasis on production is fine, equal, if not greater focus has to be given on infrastructure to ensure that the produce which the farmers grow with their ‘brow and sweat’ is not lost to damage by an exposure to the elements. It is true that funds are available under the Agri Infrastructure Fund, but the challenge is to get the producer co-operatives and Farmer Producer organizations to take the lead and responsibility of organizing the back end. This is not a task which the government can do by itself without the strong involvement of collectives of farmers. The government’s efforts to reach to the farmers through the co-operation and agriculture departments has obviously not yielded the expected results: perhaps community-based grassroots organizations can provide the necessary impetus for the organization of FPOs and co-operatives. The need of the hour is to ensure that the interest of the farmers and consumers are harmonised by making the transactions smoother and transparent.