Keonjhar: Sweet potato is harvested in huge quantities every winter in Keonjhar district. But the growers of this root vegetable more often than not burn their fingers due to lack of proper marketing facilities.
The soil of this district is suitable for growing sweet potato. Farmers grow this in both plain and hilly regions. In winter, the crop is harvested.
Sweet potatoes produced by tribals in natural climate of hilly areas are always in demand. This root vegetable can be eaten by roasting it in the firewood oven or by boiling it. Some use it in preparing pancakes which are also very tasty.
In places such as Keonjhar Sadar, Champua, Patna, Bansapal and Telkoi blocks, sweet potatoes are grown in abundance. Non-government sources claim that about 50 tons of sweet potatoes are harvested annually in Keonjhar district.
According to principal of Pateswar College Suakati Ramakant Swain, sweet potato is very tasty and good for health as well. This is why during winter; it becomes a staple diet of tribal people.
Sweet potato currently trades at Rs 20 a kilogram in Keonjhar market. But in cities like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, this is being sold at a higher price – often two to three times higher.
With no direct marketing facility available with farmers to sell their produces in urban areas, they are forced to sell their crops at throwaway prices to middlemen. Traders earn a buck by procuring them from the framers here and selling them in towns and cities at much higher prices.
According to local people, if the government provides the farmers with marketing facilities and facilities to preserve the vegetable, sweet potato farmers would be immensely benefitted.
Nirakar Naik, a sweet potato grower, said they are interested in growing sweet potato but incurring losses as they are forced to sell more than half of their harvest at far less price.
When contacted, deputy director, horticulture, Omprakash Rath said they had given sweet potato saplings to the farmers of different blocks. “As of now, they are selling their produces on their own. In the coming years, they will be linked to markets,” he added.
PNN
