Rising prices of onion and potato in Assam during lean months is a grim reminder of the yawning gap between demand and the state's own production of vegetables. There can be no respite from price volatility if the perpetual dependence of the state on major onion and potato producing states is not reduced by increasing its own production. Assam's potato productivity has increased from 7 tons a hectare to 17 tons a hectare, but commercial production is limited to only seven districts of Barpeta, Darrang, Kamrup, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Dhubri and Nalbari while onion production at commercial scale is confined to three districts of Barpeta, Nagaon and Dhubri. Remunerative prices and cold storage facilities at affordable cost are essential to motivate more farmers to take up production of these two commodities to increase local production but neither has been ensured till date which explain the reluctance of farmers of other districts. The Agri Vision 2025 of the state projects that the state's requirement of vegetables by 2025-26 will be 36.78 lakh MT and there will be shortfall of about 6.51 lakh MT if the production does not increase. The estimation considers 20% post-harvest loss and 30% of supplies to neighbouring states. The Vision document states that the increase in area under vegetables can be achieved by bringing feasible mono-cropped area of Sali paddy during Rabi season and by increasing cropping intensity by introduction of kharif vegetables in typical and feasible flood-free Rabi vegetables areas as well as by increasing inter-cropping of kharif vegetables in areas covered by fruits and nuts. The Vision Plan projects the possibilities, but the challenge is to execute it. Assam produces around 11 lakh MT of potatoes against its annual demand of around 40 lakh MT and source its supplies to meet the shortfall from major potato-producing states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. As compared to 2406 cold storages in Uttar Pradesh with 147.14 lakh MT capacity, 514 in West Bengal with 59.47 lakh MT capacity, 405 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with 15.68 lakh capacity, Assam has only 39 cold storages with only 1.78 lakh MT capacity which speaks volume about how price hike at source markets pushes up the prices in Assam. The Centre has built buffer stock of 2.50 LMT (Lakh Metric Tons) of onion during the Rabi 2022 harvesting period in a view to keep onion retail prices stable even during the lean arrival season. The Central government has procured 2.5 lakh MT of onion for the buffer for 2022-23 which is 50,000 MT more than last year with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) procuring it from farmers through the Farmer Producer Organizations in Rabi onion-growing states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Similar assured procurement at remunerative price is a must to motivate more farmers to shift to onion production on commercial scale in Assam. The buffer stocks are released through targeted open market sales and offered to states and Union Territories and government agencies for supplies through retail outlets during the lean months (Aug - Dec) to moderate price rise. The Central government, in an official release, states that the release of onion buffer is initiated to check the price rise and a quantity of 54,000 tons of onion has been released to various markets across 14 States and Union Territories to keep the onion retail prices stable. The Government has offered the state and UTs to lift onion from Central Buffer Stock at the rate of Rs 800 per quintal.Onion selling at Rs 40 to 50 a kilogram at retail markets in Guwahati and wholesale traders attributing the hike to increase in prices at source markets indicate that Assam is yet to be benefitted by any such release of buffer stock of onion to protect consumer from price shocks. Price stabilization Fund (PSF) is the mechanism which Assam can utilize effectively to moderate prices of onion and potato suppliedby other states. The state can maintain buffer stock of onion and potato utilizing the PSF to shield the consumers from price volatility during the lean period. Under the PSF scheme, interest free advances are provided to states for creation of State-level Price Stabilization Fund, on 75:25 funding pattern in case of north-eastern states. The states having the PSF are mandated to undertake necessary interventions for controlling prices of essential food commodities. Assam is among six states to have drawn advance under PSF, and its review can help identify gaps in implementation. The PSF is only a temporary relief mechanism and the primary focus for Assam to reduce the price volatility needs to be on establishing more cold storages and facilitating the input and output marketing facilities to motivate farmers in the state for commercial production of potato and onion.