POTATO EFFECTS IN BENGAL

POTATO IS  CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MAIN INGREDIENTS OF OUR FOOD SUPPLEMENTS.

BUT,NOT MANY HAVE TRIED TO KNOW ABOUT THE INSIDE STORY ABOUT POTATO IN INDIA,WHICH ENTIRELY DEPENDS UPON CLIMATE .

NO ONE COMPLAIN WHEN RATE 1 KG OF SALT  GETS SPECULATED AND GETS SOLD FOR RS 30/40/50.      BUT IF POTATO RATE GOES UP THAN ....................................................

              h      u    n   g     a      m     a              h   a  i           b  a  r   p   a    ! !  !

THE STATE OF U.P  IS THE BIGGEST PRODUCER OF POTATO IN OUR COUNTRY FOLLOWED BY WEST BENGAL

IN INDIA,THE PRODUCTION CYCLE OF POTATO IS ...........................................................

1.THE KHARIF SEASON WHICH CULTIVATION / HARVEST / FINAL INTAKE  TAKES PLACE BETWEEN AUGUST TO OCTOBER ......... ..........................................................................................

2. THE RABI SEASON WHICH CULTIVATION / HARVEST / FINAL INTAKE PERIOD IS FROM DECEMBER TO MARCH.

THE PERCENTAGE OF POTATO PRODUCTION IS 15% IN KHARIF SEASON AND THE REST 85% IN RABI  REASON.

ENTIRE POTATO PRODUCED WITHIN KHARIF SEASON GOES FOR THE MARKET / IMMEDIATE CONSUMPTION , WHEREAS , POTATO PRODUCED DURING THE RABI HARVEST ONLY IS STORED  IN    WAREHOUSES   /   COLD STORAGES.

THE POTATO MARKET TOTALLY DEPEND UPON THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY CYCLE WHICH ITSELF DEPEND UPON THE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF THE COUNTRY.

IF,THERE IS FLOOD IN ANY PART OF THE COUNTRY WHICH PRODUCES  OTHER VEGETABLES,THE POTATO PRICE GO UP.

SIMILARLY,IF THEIR IS DROUGHT OR INSECT FED  HARVEST,THE PRODUCTION RATIO FELL CREATING PRICES SPIRALING  UP.

WHEN, THE CLIMATE IS GOOD,INCIDENT FREE,IT MAY RESULT IN OVER PRODUCTION.OVER PRODUCTION MEANS DISTRESS SELL I.E LOWER PRICES.

THAT'S IS THE SCENE.

IN THE YEAR 2011-12 THERE WAS RECORD PRODUCTION OF POTATO IN INDIA........................      A           4.36 CRORE TON     OF POTATO.

FARMERS DID'NT GOT THEIR EVEN COSTS BACK.SOME OF THE STOCKS IN THE WAREHOUSES REMAINED UNCLEARED.THAT RESULTED IN DUMPING OF THE POTATO IN GARBAGE.

THE AFORESAID SCENE WAS VISIBLE IN BENGAL IN THE YEAR 2010.
DUE TO THIS,MANY FARMERS MIGRATED FROM THIS CROP TO OTHER CROPS RESULTING IN LOWER PRODUCTION IN LATER YEARS.

IN WEST BENGAL,WHICH IS 2ND LARGEST PRODUCER OF POTATO IN THE COUNTRY,ONLY HALF HEARTED MEASURES WERE TAKEN TO CONTROL THE RATES LAST YEAR  .....2013 .

FURTHER,EVEN THOSE MEASURE WENT COUNTER PRODUCTIVE.

IN THE YEAR 2008, WHEN OVER PRODUCTION WAS REPORTED,GOVT WAS FORCED TO PAY A SUBSIDY OF ABOUT 10/- per Qtl to every farmer keeping their stocks in warehouses.

FURTHER,A TRANSPORT SUBSIDY WAS PUT TO EFFECT FOR ENCOURAGING POTATO EXPORT FROM BENGAL TO OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY AND OVERSEAS MARKET.THUS,A LARGE PART OF POTATO PRODUCE WAS TRANSPORTED TO MANY PARTS OF COUNTRY FROM BENGAL.

BUT,THE FOLLOWING YEARS,NO SUCH EFFORTS WERE TAKEN UP.ONLY IN 2010 ( ? ) GOVT. OF WEST BENGAL DECLARED A MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE A ND PURCHASED A SMALL QUANTITY OF POTATO WORTH ABOUT 60 CRORES.

BUT ,IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS IT IS SEEN THAT INSTEAD OF REGULATING THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY CYCLE BY MORE PRACTICAL METHODS,THE GOVT. IS DETERMINED TO ACT TOUGH THROUGH PRE-CONCEPTED METHODS.

THESE ATTITUDES , SOMETIMES YIELD RESULTS DESIRED.BUT , IN THE LONG RUN IT BECOMES COUNTER PRODUCTIVE WHICH WAS SEEN LAST YEAR.

LAST YEAR,WHEN THE OUTFLOW OF POTATO TO OTHER STATES WAS INITIALLY STOPPED THAN REGULATED ,THAT WAS THE RESULT.

SKY ROCKETING PRICES WERE ARRESTED INITIALLY ONLY TO FLARE UP IN THE LATER STAGES FORCING THE GOVT. TO PANIC.

LOGIC BEHIND GOVT. ATTITUDE TO ARREST PRICE METER BY STOPPING THE OUTFLOW OF POTATO PRODUCE TO OTHER STATES IS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND.

COLDSTORAGES  ARE MEANT TO SERVE THE FARMER S TO KEEP THEIR PRODUCE DURING DISTRESS SALE PERIOD.AND THAN SELL IT AT A HIGHER RATE / MARGIN LATER.

THIS IS THE MAIN REASON BEHIND SETTING UP OF THESE INFRASTRUCTURES.IF FARMERS ARE NOT ALLOWED OR COMPELLED TO SELL AT A FIX OR LOWER RATES THAN THE PREVAILING MARKETS THAN WHO WILL KEEP THEIR PRODUCE IN THE WAREHOUSES.

if a farmer will not get either a margin of profit on his produce or he is compelled to sell at a price lower than market prices than it's obvious that he has to look towards other side of the coin to stay erect .

An hyper active government on this issue may ruin the only cash crop which remains in West Bengal.

If politicians start taking all the adminstrative decisions instead of the bureaucrates ,the system has to suffer.

THIS YEAR TOO,THE GOVT. OF BENGAL MAY DO THE SAME THING . HOW CAN ANYBODY CONVINCE ANYBODY IF HE IS DETERMINED TO EFFECT HIS IDEAS.

footnote :-reports dropping in just now is that,  the West Bengal govt.has announced to stop / regulate inter state sale of Potato with immediate effect !