Lahaul in Himachal reaps bumper potato crop

As the potato harvest draws to a close in the tribal Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh, farmers are pleased after harvesting a bumper crop this year.

"The production this year has already crossed 150,000 bags," said Norbu Borogapa, who heads the Lahaul Potato Growers' Co-operative Society (LPS).

Each bag weighs 80 kg. Last year the production of Lahaul potato in the valley was around 125,000 bags.

The higher yield has been attributed to good rains in the summer in this dry valley, which is beyond the reach of the monsoon due to high mountains blocking the rain-bearing clouds from the plains.

The potato varieties grown in Lahaul are in great demand from potato farmers of West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram, among other states.

Buyers gather in large numbers at Manali, where bulk of this seed potato is stalked after being transported across the 13,000 feet-high Rohtang pass, which often closes due to sudden autumn snow.

"We have set the rate of the Kufri chandermukhi potato variety at Rs 1,025 per 80 kg bag," said Borongapa. Rates of Kufri jyoti and Shefodi are yet to be decided by the state government," said a farmer. In recent years there has been criticism of Lahual farmers for not maintaining the disease-free quality of these high mountain varieties and mixing them with disease-prone varieties from the plains.

Even though in recent years the area under potato cultivation is shrinking in Lahaul, the valley has registered a bumper crop this year.