With an aim to make Odisha self-sufficient in potato, the State Government has decided to seek support of the International Potato Centre (CIP) to set up a massive seed potato project in the State.
Accordingly, the CIP would prepare a project proposal on potato seed production in the State by using the best technology available. Implementation of the project is expected to start from October, said a senior official in the Department of Agriculture (DoA).
CIP Director General Dr Barbara Wells has agreed to visit Odisha in August to sign a memorandum of understanding for the project. And implementation of the project is expected to start from October as the potato planting season begins from November, the officer said.
This has been possible due to an invitation by the CIP to Odisha Government officials to visit lima, capital of Peru, where the CIP is headquartered. The CIP facilitated the visit of the State’s Agriculture Principal Secretary Rajesh Verma and Horticulture Director Sanjeev Chadha.
In fact, a long-term action plan was chalked out to achieve self-sufficiency in potato over a period of three to five years; but availability of quality seed tubers is a limiting factor as presently the seed is brought from Punjab, Uttarkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Odisha now grows potato in about 14,000 hectares of land and is able to meet only one-fourth of its requirement. And the productivity is as low as 14 tonnes per hectare compared to 29 tonnes in neighbouring West Bengal, while national average is 20 tonnes per hectare.
Agriculture scientists say warm climate in winter and bacterial wilt in some areas are the major factors for poor production of potato in Odisha.
So, the State needs short-duration heat-tolerant varieties as winter is short and potato cultivation has to fit between two rice crops. The CIP’s technological support would help the State produce better and quality seeds, said the officer.
Notably, the CIP is now running a pilot project ‘Generating Advances in Incomes and Nutrition through Sweet Potato’ (GAINS) in four districts of Odisha, which would be extended to other six to eight suitable districts in the Phase II to promote enhanced production of sweet potato.