Govt announces 'Tomato Grand Challenge Hackathon' to curb price surge: Check details

At a time when tomato prices have hit Rs 80-100 per kg, the government has come up with Tomato Grand Challenge (TGC) Hackathon to enhance the tomato value chain and ensure availability of the vegetable to the consumers at affordable prices and help tomato farmers get value for the produce. TGC has been formulated by the Department of Consumer Affairs in collaboration with M/o Education (Innovation Cell).

The hackathon, which will be open to students, researchers, and entrepreneurs, aims to identify innovative solutions to increase the production and supply of tomatoes, and to reduce the cost of tomatoes for consumers, said secretary of department of consumer affairs Rohit Kumar Singh on Friday.

The event invites ideas on comprehensive and focused area interventions in tomato value chain - from cropping and market insights for the farmers, appropriate cultivars (OP varieties or hybrids) with higher shelf-life of the fruits for fresh marker, cultivars specifically suitable for processing, value-addition through interventions that can increase shelf-life, improve transportation of fresh and processing products, innovative packaging and storage, the official press release stated.

The Tomato Grand Challenge (TGC) is open to two categories of participants:

Students, Research Scholars and Faculty Members: This track is open to students, research scholars, and faculty members from any educational institution in India.

Industry individuals, Indian start-ups, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Limited Liability Partnership (LLPs), Professionals: This track is open to industry individuals, Indian start-ups, MSMEs, LLPs, and professionals from any sector in India.

The government further said that all ideas will be evaluated by experts followed by prototype development and field implementation for ensuring its usability/scalability on a large scale and price of the product. The eligible participants can apply on the portal: https://doca.gov.in/gtc/index.php.

The announcement of TGC Hackathon comes after prices of tomato shot up in the markets across the country from Rs 10-20 per kg to a price of Rs 80-100 per kg because of the dip in supply due to heatwaves in tomato-growing areas and heavy rain.

Meanwhile, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said in a media briefing that the retail prices of tomatoes in the national capital will come down immediately on improved supplies from Solan and Sirmaur districts of Himachal Pradesh.

The Tomato Grand Challenge Hackathon is part of the government's efforts to address the rising prices of food items in the country. The government has also taken other steps such as increasing the import of tomatoes and providing subsidies to farmers.

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