Nandapur: With a bumper potato production this year, one would think farmers must be having a good income this time around. However, farmers in Odisha are allegedly forced to distress sale the vegetable due to the unavailability of sufficient storage facility and marketing efforts by the state government.
It is pertinent to mention that despite adverse monsoon conditions, kharif potato production in Odisha’s Koraput district, including Nandapur block, has increased sixfold this year. However, the crop is being shipped to Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and other states instead of being retained and sold within Odisha, as the state government and district administration have not developed adequate storage and marketing facilities under the Potato Mission.
Sources said even as demand for potatoes remains high nationally, Koraput farmers are selling the tuber at Rs 17 to Rs 20 per kg to outside traders.
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As per the local farmers, traders from outside the states arrive daily with trucks and purchase potatoes directly from Kharagapur, Khurji, Malibelgaon, Badel and Padua villages under Nandapur block. They alleged that no local agency or trader is procuring their produce.
According to the information available from the office of the deputy director, horticulture, potato seeds totalling 39,295 quintals were supplied to 2,620 hectares of land for kharif cultivation this year. The total cultivated land includes 821 hectares in Nandapur block, 529 in Semiliguda, 512 in Lamtaput, 228 in Koraput, 204 in Pottangi, 165 in Dashmantpur, 100 in Lakshmipur, 40 in Narayanpatna, and 20 in Bandhugaon block.
The district has 51 solar-powered mini cold storages run by women self-help groups and three large cold storages with a capacity of 5,000 metric tons each in 14 blocks of the district.
However, long term storage of the potatoes is not feasible due to high moisture content in the tuber harvested during the rainy season as part of kharif cultivation.
With the rabi harvest expected soon and prices likely to dip, many are harvesting early and selling off their crop, district horticulture deputy director Sudam Biswal said.
Experts say that the state government should fix procurement prices for both kharif and rabi potatoes and enable women’s self-help groups, farmer-producer organisations and voluntary outfits to purchase from potato growers, then sell according to market demand. They also suggest processing undersized potatoes to maximise profits for both farmers and producer groups.
Orissa POST- Odisha’s No.1 trusted English Daily
