Produce bumper crop and be damned

KANPUR: There is some sort of a panic over the record production of potatoes this year. Farmers are pleading with the agriculture scientists to evolve methods to reduce the yield. As this year, over 69 lakh tons of potatoes have already been stored in various cold storages of Uttar Pradesh and over 25 lakh tons are lying in the fields. The farmers are also worried about the sharp drop the crop has registered in the market.
Director of Chandra Shekhar Azad Agriculture University (extension) Dr K B Singh puts it this way; “Earlier farmers used to ask us how to increase the yield, but now they are not even happy producing a bumper crop.� Dr Singh said that at a recent agro-farmers meet, farmers had asked him to evolve new methods for the reduction of potato crop as they are incurring huge losses due to higher yield this year.It is therefore, a retrograde step feel Dr Singh who said efforts of the agro scientists for evolving new higher yield varieties will not benefit the farmers until and unless proper marketing arrangements were made for their crops.
In fact, Kanpur region comprising Kanpur dehat, Farukhabad, Oria, Kannauj, Etawah and Unnao districts grow 60 per cent of the state’s potato crop. Since farmers have been able to get a good price for potato last year, they covered about 40 per cent more area in the region this year in the hope that it could be exported. Last year the government had made arrangements to export potato to Sri Lanka and Nepal. This actually encouraged the farmers to grow more. Anil Kumar, block head Shivrajpur (krashak samiti) talking to TNN about the plight of potato crop growers said; “Why should we get more yield. It is ironical that we farmers are always at the losing end, whether the yield is less or more.�
He said that farmers in the entire belt from Shivrajpur to Farukhabad are in a dilemma due to sharp fall in prices. Farmers of this area may take to the streets if the government fails to make proper marketing arrangements.
President of Kisan Kamgar Sammellan K K Shukla was angry because the government did not have any plans to ensure a proper price for potato despite the fact that farmers had this year grown the export quality potatoes.�