Centre funds 28 innovative ideas to stabilise tomato supply chain

The Centre on Friday announced “funding and mentorship” to 28 innovators who won the ‘Tomato Grand Challenge’, a hackathon to find scalable solutions to stabilise the tomato supply chain. The funding will be provided by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said of the 1,376 ideas received from innovators across India, 28 were being funded for prototype development and mentorship. In a statement, the Department of Consumer Affairs said, “The solutions from Tomato Grand Challenge promise to revolutionise the tomato value chain, enhancing resilience, reducing wastage, and increasing profitability for stakeholders. This initiative sets a benchmark for addressing challenges across other agricultural commodities in India.”