Potato varieties to be developed for Agra growers

The produce in the state has crossed 13 million tonnes this year. It is estimated that nearly 50 per cent of this will be wasted in farms and cold storages because of there being no buyers. While 15 per cent will be preserved for seeds, the rest will be consumed.

Agro scientists in Agra say that just about 1.5 per cent of the potato produce in the state will be utilised by food-processing companies because the farmers themselves are unaware of what the companies find desirable.

To educate farmers about the new potato varieties that could be grown in the state and develop new commercially viable varieties of potatoes, the state government has prepared a potato seed farm project, which will be set up at Rs 10 crore in the Singna village of Agra.

Describing the potato seed farm project, UP Horticulture Minister Suman said the seed farm would be spread over about 300 acres and the state's best scientific talent would be here to develop varieties of potatoes that are more tolerant to the erratic storage conditions available in the state, besides being more profitable.

According to the minister, potato produce has risen by 600 tonnes this year despite a 10 per cent reduction in the cultivated area. He said the reduction rate in the cultivated area of potatoes was alarming and there was a need to develop a strategy to prevent potato farmers from shifting other cash crops.

Suman said the Agra division had received Rs 13.5 crore under the National Horticulture Mission this year, which will be utilised for the development of agriculture in this region.