Gujarat govt declares subsidy on potato sale to other states

A day after Congress staged a protest in the Legislative Assembly over farmer-related issues, the Gujarat government today declared subsidy on the transport/sale of potatoes to other states to stop the unprecedented price fall following increased production.
Agriculture Minister Babu Bokhiria stated in the house that the steep fall in prices was due to the rise in the area under potato cultivation this year.
On an average, potatoes are grown on 75,000-80,000 hectares in the state, mostly in the northern parts. However, in view of the lucrative returns and favourable weather, farmers grew potatoes on 98,000 hectares this year, a 33 per cent more than previous season, stated Bokhiria.

"Thus, we have an additional five lakh tonnes of potato production this year. So, farmers are selling potatoes at Rs 80 to 100 per 20 kg at APMCs," he said.
To stabilise the prices the government had authorised six Agricultural Produce Market Committees -- Ahmedabad, Deesa, Dehgam, Ladol, Vijapur and Unava -- to buy additional stocks and send them to other states, he said.
"Registered traders at these APMCs are now authorised to purchase the additional stocks from farmers and export to other states. We will give subsidy of Rs 750 per metric tonne(MT) if it is transported by road and Rs 1,150 per MT if by railway," said Bokhiria.

Congress MLAs had alleged yesterday that BJP government in Gujarat was not taking steps to ensure good price for potato farmers. They also demanded compensation for the crops damaged by unseasonal rains.
Leaders of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh had also met Bokhiria and other ministers yesterday over these issues yesterday.
"Government should purchase potatoes at Rs 8 per kg as farmers are incurring huge losses due to high production. We also demanded that government should conduct a detailed survey of losses due to rains and give compensation," said Gujarat BKS president Magan Patel.