Pepsi's low but assured price turns Bengal farmers to Atlanta potatoes

Lufthar Rahman and his neighbours at Abhirampur village in Hooghly in West Bengal have sowed more Atlanta variety of potato this year. It is for use by PepsiCo India for making flakes and other Frito-Lay products.

The political opposition to contract farming notwithstanding;at least 30 per cent more farmers entered into agreements with PepsiCo this year. The area under cultivation has also gone up by over 15 per cent to 7,000 acres.

According to Ram Pada Pal, President of West Bengal Cold Storage Association, nearly 13,000 farmers have entered into a contract arrangement with PepsiCo for supply of Atlanta potatoes.

“The number of farmers engaged in contract farming of potatoes in Bengal has witnessed a steady increase from just about 1,800 in 2008-09 to 10,000 in 2011-12,” Pal told Business Line.

PepsiCo’s procurement from the State is set to rise to 70,000 tonnes this season compared with 60,000 tonnes last season.

Bengal is the largest supplier of potatoes to Frito-Lay’s India operations, accounting for almost 30 per cent of the company’s total procurement, which was about two lakh tonnes in 2011-12 spread across nine States.

The rise in the sowing area for Atlanta potato is despite farmers earning less than half for cultivating it compared to the usual Jyoti variety in 2011-12.