News on Potato Cultivation from India

When CIP staff first arrived in Jodhpur things felt familiar. The arid landscape, the water table, and the warm days that fed into cool evenings were reminiscent of Gujarat - India’s most productive potato growing state, except that at Jodhpur and Jaisalmer district runs along the Pakistan border no potatoes were grown.

The West-Bengal government (India) has recently abandoned its proposed potato processing unit in Hooghly's Sheoraphuli after no private company showed interest in the project.

The Odisha State Government’s plan to achieve self- sufficiency in seed potato production has gone for a toss with the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) and National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) backing out of its commitment to produce quality seeds within the State.

In the Indian State of Karnataka, the Department of Horticulture has decided to provide certified seed potatoes to 1,000 farmers for pre-monsoon cultivation on a pilot basis.