Ministers blame each other for failure to procure potato

Amid concerns over distress sale of potato in the state, Odisha Agriculture Minister today put the blame on departments of cooperation and supply.
The matter came to light after members cutting across party lines raised the issue in the state assembly.
While a kg of potato was selling at Rs 30 barely three months ago in the market, the farmers are now disposing their tuber products at just Rs 3, they said.
"Keeping in view the shortage of potato in Odisha, we had encouraged farmers to go for tuber cultivation during the rabi season this time. As a result the state has had a bumper potato production," Agriculture Minister Pradip Kumar Maharathy told reporters outside the assembly.

Agriculture department, however, was in no way responsible for the alleged distress sale of potato, he said. "This is because the agriculture department's prime responsibility is to increase production of crop and vegetables and not to ensure their procurement and storage," he added.
The procurement of potato from farmers is the responsibility of cooperation and distribution is the work of the supply department, he said, adding that therefore these two departments should be held responsible for the plight of farmers who are forced to sell their potato produce at Rs 3 or Rs 4 per kg, he said.

Admitting lack of coordination between the departments, Cooperation Minister Damodar Rout said he was not informed about the agriculture department's plan to raise the potato production in the state. "So when the agriculture department has not informed us, how can the cooperation department create storage facilities?"

Food and Supply Minister Sanjay Dasburma, who attended a meeting convened by Speaker Niranjan Pujari, said a meeting would be held under chairmanship of cooperation department tomorrow to chalk out a plan on how to deal with the situation.
The state used to import its potato requirements from West Bengal. Though the state government encouraged potato production it has no sufficient cold storage facilities to store it for future consumption.