20% of UP's potato crop damaged due to rains

Persistent rains in the last week of February in Uttar Pradesh (UP) have dashed the state government’s hopes of a bumper potato crop this year. Dharmendra Nath Pandey, deputy director (potato) in UP’s horticulture department, pegs the crop area of potato in the state at 556,000 hectares and estimates production at 14.4 million tonnes.

Earlier, a private agency had conducted a remote survey of the potato crop in UP and estimated 13.7 million tonnes of production. According to state government officials, at least 15 per cent of crop has been damaged in the potato belt of UP, while the damages in other parts could be 20-30 per cent.

Not only will the production go down but the farmers expecting a better price this year will also be disappointed, as a rain-soaked potato crop cannot be kept in cold storage for long lest it will rot.

Cold-storage owners say that instead of bringing potato crop to their warehouses, farmers would send the crop directly go to markets due to fear of further damage.

In the districts of Aligarh, Hathrus, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Ferozabad, Jalaun and Aauriyya  - known as the potato belt of UP - millions of tonnes of potato has been damaged due to the rains. These districts contributes 60 per cent of the total potato production in UP.