Bengal farmers reap rich potato harvest

With the opening up of several organised potato processing units in West Bengal, potato cultivation is becoming a profitable business for big farmers.

According to a recent study by the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), the profitability of potato cultivation is 47 per cent more than the kharif rice crop and 118 per cent more than the summer rice crop on a hectare of land.

The study also said that the kharif rice-potato-summer rice cycle is fast replacing the kharif rice-potato-sesame cycle due to low profitability of the latter.

The net income of a farmer from a hectare of potato crop is between Rs 9,000-10,000, against Rs 6,400 on an average from kharif rice and Rs 4, 300 from summer rice cultivation. In case of sesame, the earning is close to Rs 1,500 a year.

Sheikh Abdus, who owns about 10 acres of land in the Burdwan, said, "This year the potato prices are better. I could earn a profit of about Rs 8,000-10,000 from a hectare of potato cultivation. For kharif rice, the profit is Rs 1,500-2,000.

The study said that with several potato processing plants by PepsiCo India (Lays), G P Foods (Pogo), Potato King and Faber Leather coming up in the state, there has been an increase in demand for raw material.

Last year, PepsiCo bought about 27,200 tonnes of potato from the state, followed by GP foods (10,000 tonnes) and Haldiram (4,800 tonnes).

The CPRI study is corroborated by a recent Yes Bank study on potato, which presented a strong case for contract farming in West Bengal. It said that the per capita consumption of potato in India had risen from 12 kg in the early 90s to more than 16 kg at present, mainly on account of increased consumption of potato chips and dehydrated potato products.

However, only two per cent of potato produced in West Bengal is processed. With most of the landholding in West Bengal less than a hectare in area, small farmers are yet to benefit from potato cultivation.

"This year the prices are better than last year because of timely rain. The processing units and cold storages are of no use to us as whatever we produce is for our own consumption. The rest can be stored for the entire year at homes without cold storages," said Harikrishna Boria, a small farmer from the Burdhwan district.