Agartala, Sept 12: In a bid to end dependency on other states for potatoes, Tripura has tied up with the International Potato Center of Peru to boost local production and seed quality.
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath shared the details after a meeting in Agartala with Simon Heck, Director General of the International Potato Center, and Country Manager Neeraj Sharma.
The minister informed that Tripura currently has 23,746 potato farmers cultivating 47,637 kanis of land, around 7,622 hectares. “Earlier, potato production per hectare was 19.16 metric tonnes,” he said.
Highlighting past challenges, Nath said, “Earlier, seed potatoes used to come from stored potatoes or from West Bengal, Punjab and Agartala’s Golbazar. But there was no guarantee of quality, the sources were uncertain, and production was very low.” He added that true potato seeds were introduced later, but the method was costly, required skilled labour, and could only be handled at the Nagicherra Research Centre, with limited production.
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At present, Tripura produces 1.46 lakh metric tonnes of potatoes against a demand of 1.55 lakh metric tonnes. “As a result, we had to import potatoes from outside to meet the shortfall,” the minister pointed out.
Nath said the government has adopted new methods to change this situation. “After our government came to power, from the 2022–23 financial year we introduced a new method called apical rooted cutting. With Rs 5 crore allocated from the Centre’s Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana, we signed an agreement with Peru’s International Potato Center for technological support, skill development, research, certification, exports, and even setting up a potato chips processing center,” he stated.
The minister explained that the project, launched in 2023, is already benefiting farmers. “In the first year, 104 farmers were given seeds and seedlings. In 2024, the number increased to 402, and now 4,000 farmers will benefit,” he said.
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Simon Heck, who visited Tripura, praised the progress, noting that he had not seen such potato production anywhere else in India. Nath added, “Earlier the yield was 19.16 metric tonnes per hectare. Now it has risen to 62.50 metric tonnes, which is a record.”
Outlining the roadmap ahead, the minister said, “By the 2028–29 financial year Tripura will be self-sufficient in potato seed production, and by 2029–30 the state will achieve complete self-sufficiency in potato production. After that, we will move towards exports. That is our plan.”