Bhubaneswar: Odisha is reeling under a severe shortage of potatoes which is an essential item for cooking in almost every Odia household. The issue has not only rocked the state assembly it has also forced people to take to streets in different parts of the state. The crisis persists despite chief minister Mohan Majhi speaking to his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Bannerejee to ease the situation by allowing the import of tuber from her state.
Former chief minister and leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik has also sought Mamata’s help in the matter but the shortage continues with prices rising as high as Rs. 60 per kg in most areas. With news spreading that Odisha is facing shortage of this staple because of the non-cooperative attitude of the neighbouring state, people in Odisha including social organisations have tried to block the entry of trucks carrying essential items to West Bengal from Odisha. Such protests have taken place ay Chowdwar in Cuttack , a major trade hub. The government is trying to ease the situation by importing tuver from Uttar Pradesh but the quality of potatoes coming from the heartland state is not as good as those grown in Bengal.
Odisha has been dependent on West Bengal for its potato requirements since long. Things started taking a serious turn when towards mid-July the West Bengal government banned the supply of potatoes to other states to stabilise the price of the tuber in the state. Besides there has been a fall of about 20 percent in potato production in Bengal this year due to bad weather. However West Bengal government has been trying hard to keep the retail prices in check.
West Bengal is among the largest producers of potatoes in India. Its production volume is only second to Uttar Pradesh. Comparatively potato production in Odisha is much lower, despite it being an essential food item in the state. The current demand of tuber stands at over 13 lakh metric tons annually but state’s own production is only around 3 lakh metric tonnes coming from areas like Kandhamal, Koraput and Kalahandi regions. Odisha is thus heavily dependent on other states, especially West Bengal for its potato needs.
Incidentally this is not the first time Odisha has faced such a crisis. In 2015, the state launched potato mission to make state self-reliant in the area. This was to be done by increasing potato production, primarily using a system of incentives, and by strengthening the state’s storage and distribution system. But the mission did not yield desired results. As against a target of having 60,000 hectares under potato cultivation, set in 2015-16, the area under production went up from 15,000 hectares to 25,000 hectares in 2020-21. There was also no significant increase in production, which went up from 3.02 lakh mt in 2015-16 to 3.09 lakh mt in 2020-21. The failure of this mission was mainly on account of lack of adequate cold storage facilities in the state and poor market linkages for farmers. This leads to distress sales of potatoes after harvesting.
To deal with the crisis, the Odisha government has decided to procure potatoes from Uttar Pradesh through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED). It has reportedly been decided to supply potatoes to consumers at Rs 30 per kg. The government has placed an order to procure 300 mt of potatoes in the first phase. To bring prices down the state government has also started selling potatoes at the rate of 3 kg for Rs 100 at its 100 fair-price shops in Bhubaneswar. However, the crisis is likely to continue for some more time.
