Spiralling prices of vegetables have hit the consumers hard in the entire country. Soaring prices have pinched the consumers more in Assam and other states in the northeast region which are dependent on supplies from other states to meet their demand. Excessive rainfall and crop damage are stated to be the primary reasons behind average price of most vegetables shooting above Rs 100 per kg mark. Unscrupulous traders have exploited the situation by taking advantage of lack of any effective mechanism by the government for moderating vegetable prices. If vegetable prices do not cool down over the next one or two weeks, it is bound to have a cascading impact on the markets of other commodities as consumers have started tightening their purse strings. Price variation during monsoon period is a seasonal trend but the challenge is to reverse it by increasing production, storage and supplies to prevent shortage. According to NITI Aayog, demand of household vegetable consumption of total vegetables is projected to increase to 173 million tonnes in 2032-33 from the current level of about 150 million tonnes. Official estimates shows that Eastern states – Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha and eastern Uttar Pradesh account for about 44 per cent of vegetable production in the country. Within these states, Assam’s share is the lowest among these states. The state produced 37.47 lakh MT against 284.50 lakh MT in West Bengal, 178.55 lakh MT in Bihar, 92.80 lakh MT in Odisha and 70.94 lakh MT in Chhattisgarh. The final production estimates in Assam for 2021-22 of 37.47 lakh MT is higher than the projected demand of 36.78 lakh MT by 2025-26 mentioned in the Assam Agri Vision 2025 document. However, about 20% is lost on account of field wastage due to lack of storage while additional 30% is marketed to neighbouring deficient states which explain the shortage in the retail market for end consumers in the state and dependence on supplies from other eastern India states like Bihar, West Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh to meet growing demand. Besides, crop damage due to annual flood also contributes to seasonal price variation due to short supply from production clusters. Boosting vegetable production and improving storage along the supply chain can help the state overcome seasonal price variation. However, consumption of contaminated vegetables can be more dangerous than coughing up contamination-free and safer vegetables. The Bhaba Atomic Research Centre has provided 200 kits to the Assam government for testing vegetables for any chemical contamination following a directive by the Gauhati High Court to make such testing kits available to carry out the tests. Commercial availability of such testing kits will be crucial to ensure that testing of vegetable for contamination can be continued to prevent production and sale of contaminated vegetables in the markets in the state. The state government keeping consumers informed about the test findings is of paramount importance to generate awareness and alter them if any contaminated vegetables have been supplied by greedy traders to make illegitimate profits. State government taking strong punitive measures against growers and sellers of contaminated vegetables will be critical to check such illegal farming practice. Agriculture department need to play pro-active role in demonstrating to the farmers about the correct usage of fertilisers and harmful effect on health of consumers of using more fertiliser than permissible limit. A massive campaign against use of toxic chemical for artificial ripening of fruits and vegetables is needed to raise the level of awareness not just among growers and sellers but also among end consumers. Promotion of organic vegetable farming will help indigenous farmers to boost production and capture the markets and make available safer vegetable in the markets. Boosting local production of organic vegetables can be effective in price moderation provided input costs such as seeds, organic manure, labour cost remain under check. Productivity of traditional seeds is less and inadequate to cater to growing market demand and farmers may need to adopt high yielding hybrid varieties and use of chemical fertiliser to cater to projected demand. Educating the farmers on safer use of chemical fertilizer needs to be prioritized in all initiatives of the state and central governments to increasing production and improving market linkage and access for doubling farmers’ income. Farmers adapting to climate change impact on agriculture and horticulture is essential for sustainability of increasing production of vegetables. Vegetables being perishable commodities, mere boosting production is not going to change the situation. Construction of cold storage along the entire supply chain will ensure remunerative price to farmers and prevent exorbitant price hike as vegetables can be stored for long periods in those. Assam has very recently got its largest cold storage of 5000-tonne capacity but there is no room for complacency. Creation of adequate cold storage facilities to meet future vegetable demand is the need of the hour.