(IN)ACTION REPLAY
Requirement of potato in the state is around 12 lakh tonne while production is around 3.5 lakh tonne per annum.
The government has convened an emergency meeting to discuss the situation and has also instructed officials at field level to crack down on hoarders.
Though state government had launched the Potato Mission in December 2014, till date the output figure hasn’t crossed 3.5 lakh tonne
Bhubaneswar: With potato prices escalating in the state, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FSCW) Minister Surya Narayan Patro blamed the high-price of tuber in neighbouring states for the crisis in the state.
“Production in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal has hit and prices have gone up in the state due to the demand and supply gap,” Patro said, adding, “State is heavily dependent on these two states as the requirement of potato in the state is around 12 lakh tonne while production is only around 3.5 lakh tonne per annum.”
“We are studying the situation. Of the total potato produced in the country, 70 per cent comes from these two states only and when we enquired from other states like Gujarat and Maharashtra the current price has remained same there,” the minister said.
The food minister also said that the government has convened an emergency meeting to discuss the situation and has also instructed officials at field level to crack down on hoarders.
According to the FSCW department officials, the current price of potato at retail markets of major places in the state has remained Rs 17 to Rs 18, while ground reports suggest that it has already reached around Rs 20 in certain parts. Last year, the average price of potato in the state during the same period was around Rs 10.
Traders’ Association in Cuttack has also blamed the price rise in neighbouring state as the main reason for the crisis.
To boost potato production and make Odisha self-reliant, the state government had launched the Potato Mission in December 2014 and set a production target of 10 lakh metric tonnes by 2017-18. Though the state had expected a production of 4 lakh metric tonnes by 2015-16, the production went down by 30 percent that fiscal and till date the output figure hasn’t crossed 3.5 lakh tonne.
When contacted, farmers said poor offer price, lack of storage facility and lack of market linkage are the main reasons preventing farmers from cultivating the tuber. Distress sale due to meagre purchase is also another reason that is discouraging farmers to go for potato production, they said.
Thus, the state government’s all efforts to encourage potato production appear to have failed.
PNN
Requirement of potato in the state is around 12 lakh tonne while production is around 3.5 lakh tonne per annum.
The government has convened an emergency meeting to discuss the situation and has also instructed officials at field level to crack down on hoarders.
Though state government had launched the Potato Mission in December 2014, till date the output figure hasn’t crossed 3.5 lakh tonne