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Informist, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024

 

NEW DELHI - The government has funded 28 innovators to develop scalable solutions to control volatility in tomato prices and improve the value chain, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said. Out of the 1,376 ideas received from innovators under the Tomato Grand Challenge, 28 ideas have been provided funding for prototype development and mentorship, the secretary said.

 

The department launched the Tomato Grand Challenge last year by inviting innovative ideas at various levels of the tomato value chain to control volatility in prices. 

 

Though India is the second-largest producer of tomatoes, with 20 million tonnes of production, tomato prices have seen price fluctuations of over 100%, Khare told reporters at a conference on Friday. Tomato prices see high volatility in prices two to three times a year due to excessive rain or sudden heat spells, affecting both farmers and consumers, Khare said. 

 

The consumer affairs department has screened the ideas based on relevance, cost efficiency, commercial scalability, and innovation, Khare said. Solutions are focused mostly on reducing wastage during logistics and increasing the shelf life of the vegetable. Tomatoes are usually transported in crates, which limits visibility, Khare said. By shifting to transparent containers from crates, quality checks can be improved, she added. 

 

To reduce wastage during surplus production and save farmers from distress sales, Khare said that the government has received innovative processing solutions like making tomato wines and edible tomato sheets like cheese slices. Other value-added products proposed are organic ketchup, tomato pulp, and powder. 

 

Asked why tomato prices are volatile, despite having ketchup and tomato pulp in the market, Khare said Indian culinary preferences are for fresh tomatoes. 

 

In addition, only about 2% of the total production gets processed, members of the committee that selected the innovators said. 

 

Most tomatoes produced do not cater to the demands of the processing industry, Surinder Tikoo, a member of the committee said.  Moreover, the processing industry wants to procure tomatoes at very low prices that farmers find unreasonable, Tikoo said.

 

Going ahead, the government will provide innovators with market linkage and facilitate industrial interaction. "On Dec. 24, World Consumer Day, we will give detailed presentations of the solutions to the industry," Khare said. End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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