Jajpur: Even as the state government launched a potato mission in 2015 with an aim to increase tuber production in the state and make good of tuber shortage but lack of effective implementation has derailed the efforts, a report said.
The reason is attributed to deficit production and lack of adequate cold storages in the state to store the surplus cultivation for use and sale next year.
A survey by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) claims that there is a requirement of 10.21 lakh metric ton of potatoes per annum in the state while only 20 per cent of the actual requirement is produced here every year. Farmers here produce around 2.5 lakh mt of potatoes on 15,000 hectares of land.
Around 22.76 mt of potatoes in the country and 16.48 mt in the state are produced annually if we take a look at the production per hectare of land. This is the reason for which Odisha has to depend on other states to meet 80 per cent of its potato requirement.
As a result people now have to spend more from their pockets to buy a kilogram of potato at Rs 35 which was earlier selling at Rs 15 per kg. The pace at which potato mission is being implemented to make the state self-reliant in tuber production and construction of cold storages is quite disappointing. Reports claimed that only 22 out of the proposed 112 cold storages have been built in last five years. The payment of subsidy money to the owners is also disappointing, the report added.
The state government formed a taskforce to make recommendations on increasing potato production December 27, 2014. The taskforce made several recommendations on tuber production, storage and supply.
Later, the state government launched potato mission with an aim to increase tuber production, ensure proper marketing facilities; increase the capacity of cold storages; production of potato seeds; credit linkage facilities for cultivation and storage and formation of potato farmers’ association.
The mission also proposed to construct 112 cold storages of 5, 60,000 mt capacities between 2015 and 2020 and made a plan outlay of Rs 133.15 crore. However, only Rs 59.35 crore fund were allocated for the purpose.
The shortage in tuber production in the state could be gauged from the fact that 72,040 mt of potatoes were supplied from other states, 16,260 mt of potatoes were produced locally; 13,750 mt of fruits and other vegetables of 10,9830 mt have been stored in the cold storages in 2018-19 which is just 47 per cent of the capacity of the cold storages.
However, ironically only 22 cold storages of 1,00,600 mt capacity have been built. Among them four cold storages are in Sambalpur, three in Khurda, three in Sundargarh, two in Balasore and one each in Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Angul, Bhadrak, Ganjam, Puri, Bolangir, Koraput, Cuttack and Nabarangpur districts.
The state government has sanctioned Rs2,668.80 lakh and Rs1,413.60 lakh as subsidy to the owner of the cold storages in two installments during the last five years. The delay in construction is attributed to excessive maintenance cost, spending more during the initial phase of construction, non-cooperation by banks and fall in production of vegetables which can be stored over a longer period, the report added.
Reports said that a cold storage has been constructed while another is under construction at Panikoili in Jajpur district. The district produces vegetables on 18,000 hectares of land while plans have been made to produce 150 quintal of tubers this year.
PNN