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Ensure potato farmers face no inconvenience: U.P. CS
Government ensures top value for farmers' produce, focusing on potato storage and sale. UP leads in potato production, with higher market prices this year.
Ensuring the highest value for farmers’ produce is the government’s top priority, chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra said, asking officials to ensure farmers faced no inconvenience in the storage and sale of potatoes, and all Mandis should be made operational before the potato season.
He was chairing a meeting with officials of the horticulture department, here on Monday, to take stock of potato production, storage and market prices.
“Potato rates, cold storage capacity, and availability should be updated daily on the relevant portal, both at the district and headquarters levels,” he told officials. The CS also stressed the need for daily reports on this matter from the district level to the headquarters. He emphasised the need for complete modernisation of existing cold storage facilities.
Uttar Pradesh, it was pointed out in the meeting, contributed to approximately 35% of the country’s potato production. Over 6 lakh farmers in the state are engaged in potato cultivation. Last year, the state produced 243 lakh metric tonnes of potatoes on a cultivation area of 6.94 lakh hectares. The current average market price is Rs1,039 per quintal (as of March 7, 2024), which is about 63% higher than the previous year.
It was noted that this year there is a 3% increase in the number of cold storage facilities and storage capacity compared to the previous years. The state has 2,048 cold storage units with a total capacity of 17,092,355.37 metric tonnes, and 11,964,648.76 metric tonnes of storage space is available.
