Pepsico buys potato in Uttar Pradesh at windfall prices

Farmers of the potato belt in Uttar Pradesh now see hope in PepsiCo. The company has started procuring a specific breed of potato from farmers at Rs 825 a quintal (100 kg) while the market is not fetching a price of even Rs 300 per quintal.

The company is also distributing good-quality seeds to the farmers to receive assured supplies of the Chipsona-1 breed of potato next year. Pepsico is a leading snack food company manufacturing potato chips and traditional namkeen, which require this specific breed of potato.

The farmers are upbeat about the offer. Subhash Shukla of Chibbramau near Kannauj, who cultivated potato in his farms, says, "If I had known of this offer, I would not have let my produce rot in the fields."

Rajeev Tandon, who is in charge of the Pepsico centre, told Business Standard that the company was supplying seeds of the Chipsona-1 and Atlantic breed of potato to the farmers to ensure adequate supply next year. The company has a prior agreement with these farmers to buy their produce at pre-determined rates.