Bengal potato farmers make a killing on lower output

Lufthar Rahaman, a forty six-year-old potato farmer from Gurap village in Hooghly district, somewhere around 65 km from Kolkata, is fetching around four situations a lot more on his potatoes this year on the back of expected drop in manufacturing.

Rahaman is earning just about ₹520 for a bag of potatoes (one particular bag includes 60 kg) this year, when compared with ₹120-one hundred thirty a bag identical time period previous year. Productivity is down by around 29 for each cent on account of unfavourable temperature problems.

“This year I have been equipped to harvest only around 70-80 luggage on every bigha (somewhere around .four acre) of land as when compared to ninety-100 luggage a bigha all through standard a long time. For some farmers, the productivity is nonetheless reduce at around 50-60 luggage/bigha. This has assisted rates to organization up,” Rahaman told BusinessLine.

Rahaman owns shut to four bighas of land in Gurap.

West Bengal, the 2nd largest producer of potatoes in the country, is very likely to have a reduce crop this year. The Point out, which creates shut to 110-one hundred fifteen lakh tonnes of the tuber each individual year, is believed to generate shut to just ninety lakh tonnes this year. This is even reduce than previous years’ manufacturing of 92-lakh tonne.

Rain havoc

Although the preliminary estimates had prompt that potato manufacturing would be at least ten for each cent higher this year when compared with 2019, untimely rains hampered both equally sowing and harvesting of the crop. Potato cultivation in Bengal is distribute about shut to four.6 lakh hectares of land. Hooghly, Burdwan, Bankura, East Midnapore and West Midnapore are critical rising districts.

Sowing of potato (early variety – Pokhraj) commonly commences as early as conclusion-October and harvesting of the crop begins by conclusion-December. The sowing for later variety (the conventional variant – Jyoti) commences a little later, someday around 2nd week of November and continues up to December. The harvesting of this crop commonly commences by the 2nd week of January.

Having said that, sowing of early variety acquired delayed owing to untimely rains, thus delaying harvesting. The sowing of the later variety (Jyoti), much too, acquired delayed. Harvesting of early variety commences by December 20, but this time it could not be done owing to untimely rains. Harvesting began only from January seven.

Additionally, the crop in some of the districts this sort of as Bankura and West Midnapore ended up impacted by the late blight sickness. In spite of the Point out Federal government interventions by sending teams to these districts to consider preventive actions, some crop could have acquired broken by the sickness, a trader explained.

Charges to continue to be organization

In accordance to Patit Pavan De, member, West Bengal Chilly Storage Association, the believed reduce manufacturing in the Point out coupled with a reduce crop both equally in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are very likely to hold rates of Bengal potatoes organization at recent stages.

Wholesale value of potato (Jyoti variety) is presently ruling at around ₹1,100 a quintal, when compared with ₹1,000-1,050 a quintal identical time period previous year. The retail rates are also ruling organization with Jyoti fetching shut to ₹16-eighteen a kg and the superior high quality Chandramukhi potato earning ₹22 a kg.

Uttar Pradesh, the largest producer of potato in the country with a full manufacturing of shut to 140 lakh tonnes, is expecting a ten for each cent drop in manufacturing this year. Punjab is also very likely to witness a reduce crop on account of unfavourable temperature problems.

“The crop in both equally UP and Punjab is expected to be reduce this year, and this is very likely to hold rates of Bengal potatoes organization at around ₹9.5-ten.5 a kg going ahead,” De explained.