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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | In potato belt, farmers struggle as prices plummet due to supply glut -Atri Mitra

In potato belt, farmers struggle as prices plummet due to supply glut -Atri Mitra

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published Published on Apr 8, 2021   modified Modified on Apr 8, 2021

-The Indian Express

Potato is cultivated on almost four lakh acres of land in West Bengal between December and March, with about 10 lakh farmers growing the crop.

Hooghly: With West Bengal in the midst of a polarising election season, farmers in the state’s potato belt of Hooghly and parts of Purba Bardhaman say their cries for help are getting drowned out in the din of a high-decibel poll campaign.

Potato is cultivated on almost four lakh acres of land in West Bengal between December and March, with about 10 lakh farmers growing the crop. The farmers say they are staring at huge losses this year after failing to recoup the cost of production, and blame middlemen for exacerbating their woes. They want the government to increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to help them recover their losses.

Sanatan Malik is a farmer from Kamarkundu in Hooghly district’s Singur area. He participated in the Singur anti-land acquisition movement of 2006 that laid the foundation of the Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) rise to power and was even jailed during the demonstrations. But now he wants industries in the area, unable to keep pace with the rising cost of producing potatoes.

“In a year, the price of potato seeds increased at least thrice. Cultivators in Bengal prefer seeds from Punjab because they are disease-free and offer a better yield. It was Rs 3,000 per quintal last year, this year it increased to Rs 5,000 per quintal. The price of fertilisers has also increased thrice in the last 10 years,” he says.

Malik points out that last year potatoes were sold for Rs 1,200 per quintal because of low production. But this season the price has dropped to Rs 540 per quintal because of a production glut.

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The Indian Express, 8 April, 2021, https://indianexpress.com/elections/ground-report-in-potato-belt-farmers-struggle-as-prices-plummet-due-to-supply-glut-7263593/


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