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Potato production and marketing in India
Every time there is a rise in the prices of agriculture products, there is much public outcry on the inefficiency of the governments, whom we all love to blame. Well, though it is a known fact that the middle men are the actual beneficiaries, while the farmers who actually produce the food are the worst sufferers in the food value chain.
So, why to study potato you might ask? There are several reasons behind it. One, potato is one of the commonest of all vegetables. In other words, it is a vital part of an average Indian’s diet. Two, it is grown in almost all the states of India, which have very diverse climatic conditions. At first we discuss problems which are already present –
Region wise
North India
North east India
Plateau region South Indian Hills
cold waves and high or low rainfall is major cause of loss.
The area comprises of Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal. Wart caused by Synchytrium endobioticum is a special problem in this area.
: It covers vast areas of central and peninsular India. This zone consists of parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa. Red sandy or fine textured block cotton soils characterize this area. Black soils develop cracks on drying which exposr the tubers to potato tuber moth (PTM) and greening in sunlight.
: This zone comprise of the Southern hill zone in Tamil Nadu. Infestation by cyst nematodes (Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida) is a special problem of the area.
Problems in cropping-
Seed/tuber Planting methods
Crop protection Harvesting
Supply is from far places(Punjab) and not consistent
Improper seed bed preparation by farmers
Still low
Crop yield is overly dependent on biotic and abiotic stresses
Manual harvesting takes long time
Proper stage of
Early crop faces high temperature at emergence and late crop face frost
Low sugar and high dry matter varities suitable for industries
adoption of new techniques like seed plot technique
Less attention to selection of proper variety
like-frost, fog, blight disease, nematodes
Effective chemicals to control pest are unavailable
harvesting important for sound production
Lack of space to store
Proper intervention to control mixing of many pest –disease absent
Problems after harvesting-
At farmers field During storage Supply in market
Farmers has insufficient infrastructure to store produce, so distress sale
Improper scientific technology leads to rotting of potato and damage by Diamond back moth
Sellers usually pile up stocks and wait for price-hike seasons like-Navratri festival
Where do you get your potatoes from?
Period SourceJanuary-May Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar,
Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra, Orissa, Gujarat
May-June Spring crop in hills and North Western plains
July-August Southern HillsOctober-December
Punjab, Uttaranchal
December-January
Southern hills
Long term goals-
Early maturing processing varieties for untapped areas like plateau region;
Development of temperature insensitive processing varieties;
Breeding varieties resistant to cold sweetening;
Specific breeding for problematic regions;
Development of yield and quality enhancing technologies for processing varieties;
Finding low-cost alternative storage technology;
Improving infra-structural facilities and developing inexpensive technologies for the production of diverse potato products
A comprehensive, viable and economical scheme for supplying processing potatoes to the industries round the year
Planning for intervention
Region-specific-
Supply of potato seeds to north-eastern plains from nearby states
Arrangement of disease free potato seed from CPRI
Selection of variety according use of potato-for industries like chips, franch fries, home consumption
Choose varieties according recommendation to that climate, time of planting-early ,mid, late
Avoid areas with regular incidence of aphid attack, blight disease of rice and potato
Crop management
Proper seed bed preparation
Use of seed plot technique to reduce aphid attack
Use treated potatoes for seed
Green manuring application
Proper moisture maintenance and earthing up
Avoid soil cracking by regular controlled irrigation
Right time of digging
Just before harvesting avoid irrigation
Harvesting through machines saves time
Post harvesting operations
Proper storage of potato to increase storage life
Promote cooperative storage
To reduce potato sweetness spray of chemicals like CIPC which not only provide better price but also convenient in use
Strong transport system
Control on piling of stock by aggregators, commission agent
Market interventions
Promotion of contract farming can ensure farmer of regular income- Pepsi and ITC procures potatoes for chips making
Government can arrange for a mechanism to check wide price fluctuations
Length of time for storage should be reduce because-
It occupies space for long time
Detioration in quality
License charge should be reduced for store keepers
Proper supply of pesticides, fertilisers in the market
New horizons opened recently-
Some regions like Nagrota- Bagwan of HP, Malwa region of MP, Deesa of Gujarat etc grow processing quality potatoes and potato processors used to collect processing quality potatoes from the regions. Suitability of potato grown in the above mentioned regions led to the development of indigenous, non-refrigerated potato storage methods. Growth of potato processing industries has vastly stimulated these indigenous potato storage methods where strong linkages between the producers and processors have been established. The returns to the growers are quite handsome ranging from Rs. 900 to 2,390 per ton for a short storage period of three-four months during March-June. Moreover, country can also save precious energy due to development of non-refrigerated potato storages.
Who will be change maker-
Farmers-
By adopting improved tubers (variety), better management and market awareness
Research-
Agricultural universities, CPRI and ICAR will develop varities for different purposes.
Market-
By ensuring better price to farmers in consumers paid money and maintaining smooth supply of inputs and output
Private sector-
Contract farming can provide mutual benefit to industry as well as farmers.
Government-
By putting a cap on potato price and control on future market
Acknowledgement-
Arun Pandit, N Panday and Rajesh K Rana,Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh,Indian Farming Dec. 2008