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 Potato fourth most important crop in the world.
 India fourth in area and third in production.
Area = 1.4 million Ha.
Production = 25 million tonnes
Productivity = 17.90 ton per Ha.
 Per capita consumption = 14.8 kg/head/year (one of the
least in the world)
 Major potato growing states are Himachal Pradesh,
Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar and
Assam.

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False
0
true
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 Hardly 1 percent potato processed in India.

 Processed potato products
Potato flour
Potato chips
French fries
Frozen potato
Potato starch
Tapioca of potato
 Varieties used in processing :
Chipsona-1 and Chipsona-2(ICAR)
Shepody, Santana, Kennebec(imported)

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 Various factors influencing the potato prices:
 Change in acreage depending on yield and price
realization
 Weather condition during growing season.
 Demand of potato from food processing industries
 Comparative price with other vegetables in the domestic
market
 Transportation charges have also great impact on prices
 Hoarding of potatoes by growers and traders before
selling in expectation of better prices

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 Source of
information

Primary Secondary
data data

Farmer Private traders District

interview interview Department of
Agriculture

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• Total farmers under contract = 205
PURPOSE NUMBER OF FARMERS

Shepody commercial 10

Santana seed 24

Shepody seed 45

Total sample 79

• Number of farmers covered for crop met = 8

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1. To study the climatic conditions and cropping pattern of
the area
2. To study the marketing channel of the private traders
3. To create awareness about the right cultivation
practices
4. To monitor the gap between the recommended and
followed cultivation practices

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Objective 1: To study the climatic conditions and
cropping pattern of the area

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Source: District Dept. of Agriculture12
Source: District Dept. of Agriculture13
Source: District Dept. of Agriculture14
Source: District Dept. of Agriculture 15
 16
Source: Tehsildar office
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18
Source: District Dept. of Agriculture 19
Source: District Dept. of Agriculture 20
Source: District Dept. of Agriculture 21
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Objective 2: To study the marketing of other
potato traders

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 There are mainly three traders of potato who take potato
from the Lahaul
 The Lahoul Potato Growers Co-operative Marketing cum
Processing Society (LPS)
 Hari Singh Thakur (HST)
 Bhagwan Singh

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Seed supplied by the District Department of
Agriculture

Production done by the farmers and sent to

Manali

LPS gives advance of 40 - 50 % to the farmers

LPS grades the potato and sells it to different

states

Collection of the sold potato was done and

price was declared

Payment done to farmers after cutting

commission of 6 % and other expenses 25
 Seed supplied by the District Department of
Agriculture

Inspection Production done by the farmers

done by HST
and farmers
selected Selected farmers sent produce to Manali. HST
gives advance of 30 - 40 % to the farmers

HST grades the potato in 6 grades, sealing

and tagging done and sells it to different
states and traders

Collection of the money after selling potato

was done and price was declared

Payment done to farmers after cutting

commission of 11% and other expenses by
next September 26
 Various costs involved after procurement
 Grading = Rs. 10 per bag
 Loading and unloading = Rs. 2-3 per bag
 Sealing and tagging = Rs. 9 per bag
 Transportation (by farmers) = Re. 1 per kg

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Objective 3: To create awareness about the right
cultivation practices

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 Following are the recommendations given by the company for
proper growth and development of plants:
 Plant to plant spacing (for seed) = 4 inches
 Plant to plant spacing (for commercial) = 8 inches
 Row to row spacing = 18 to 22 inches
 Sowing depth = 3 inches
 Previous crop = pea or any crop other than potato (KCM and Jyoti)
 Seed treatment
 Three to four fungicide spray 45 days after sowing and at ten days
interval.

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 To create awareness among the farmers following methods
were used:
 Farmer meetings
 Literature
 Demonstrations and field visits

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 Meetings are organized to directly come in contact with the
farmers.
 Separate meetings were conducted for seed and commercial
purpose.
 Issues raised by the farmers are directly solved there.

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 The farmers were also given write ups so that they can easily
under stand the cultivation practices.
 These contain all the practices to be followed by the farmers.
 The write ups were in Hindi language so that they are easy to
understand.

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 Demonstrations were given during the meetings and field
visits
 Various things like seed cutting, spacing treatment etc. are
dealt in this.

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Objective 4: To monitor Potato cultivation
practices used by the farmers

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Name Date of Spacing Spacing Treatment Fertilizer Emergence Seed Previous
sowing plant to row to N/P2O5/K2 (in weight crop
plant( in row ( in O (in kg percent) (in
inches) inches) per bigha) gram)
Amar May 29 4 20 Done 2.3/6/3 70 (June 30 KCM
Singh 29)
Jagdish May 29 4 20 Done 4.5/12/6 72 (June 33 KCM
Chand 29)
Jagat May 29 5 18 Done 6/14/8 57 (June 27 Pea &
Singh 29) Jyoti
Ratan June 2 6 18 Done 3.8/3.8/3.8 67 (July 1) 24 Pea
Chand
Jagdev June 2 4 18 Done 7.5/7.5/7.5 68 (July 1) 29 Santana
Rana
Sharavan June 2 6 18 Done 3.5/9/4.5 65 29 Pea
Kumar (July 1)
Sonam June 1 4 19 Done 3/8/4 58 (June 30 KCM
Thakur 29)
Jagdish June 1 8 23 Done 11/17.5/8.7 58 (June 24 Shepody
30) & KCM
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 Technological gap is the difference between the recommended and the
existing practices.
 The technological gap was worked out by comparing existing level of
technology with recommended package of practices published by the
company.
The formula to work out technological gap index was:
RA
Technological gap index = ------------------ X 100
R
Where,
R = Recommended technology
A = Technology actually adopted by the farmers

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• Gap in adaptation of technology

S. No. Technology Gap (in per cent)

1. Plant to plant spacing 40.30

2. Row to row spacing 0

3. Depth of sowing 42.70

4. Previous crop 30.40

Project Data Final.xlsx

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• Yield of Kufri Jyoti/KCM = 2,250 kg
• Price (as per HST for A grade) = Rs. 11.31 per kg
• Total earning = 2,250 X 11.31 = Rs. 25,453
• Ratio = 25,453/9165 = 2.77
• Yield of Santana = 3,600 kg
• Price by McCain = Rs.11 per kg
• Total earning = 3,600 X 11 = Rs. 39,600
• Ratio = 39600/11490 = 3.44

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Conclusion, problem identification and suggestions

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 Strengths Weakness
Land is fertile Fragile and sloppy land, so remain affected by
Soil are sandy loam light texture the snow avalanches
Plenty of irrigation water from perennial glaciers Soil is liable to weaker erosion
The area is well known for seed potato and Lack of technical knowhow among farmers and
green pea production good quality material
Being dry temperate zone there is less attack of Scarcity of labour
pest and diseases`` Market is so far
Short growing season (May to October)
Opportunities Threat
Scope of growing off-season vegetables Harsh climatic conditions
Quality potato seed production Frequent road blockage
Virus free seed production The area remains cut off from other part of the
New rocky tunnel will be built country due to heavy snowfall
New companies like Dabur, Mc Donald’s, Glaciers and avalanches
Reliance Fresh, Mohan Beverages etc.
Farmers are interested in contract farming
Farmers are looking towards opportunity in
floriculture
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 Strengths
1.Better pricing as the company is giving
highest price for the produce.
2.Facilities provided like seed provided by
the company, transportation cost borne by
the company, technical assistance etc.
3.Better yield of the varieties
Opportunity
1.Increasing interest of farmers in contract 1.What if the productivity falls due to
farming.
2.Road work on progress to Keylong.
Weakness
1.Transportation which causes delay in
providing the seed sometimes and
procurement.
2.The seed require more care than Kufri
Jyoti and KCM.
3.Problem of rottening of seed.
Threats
closure spacing for seed purpose?
2.Private traders and table purpose market
for potato if gives better price.
3.Other crops gaining popularity like pea,
exotic vegetables, flowers etc.
4.Companies coming for contract like
Dabur, Mc Donald’s, Reliance Fresh, etc.
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 Farmers absent in the meetings
 Farmers not going to the field
 Plant to plant spacing of 4 inches seems too small
 Intelligent farmers
 Traditional practices
 They are suspicious about the size and the production of
crop
 Hurry of finishing the work

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 There was snow fall in the valley on 10 and 11 May. The
sowing of stored seed was done a few days after that.
So there may be still much high moisture in the soil than
it should be.
 Some farmers have not treated the seed after cutting it.
 Some farmers cut the seed and treated it only with
Plaster of Paris.
 Some farmers after treatment put the seed in the bags
and covered it with polythene sheet. Because of this the
supply of air was restricted and moisture was built in the
bags. After sowing this seed was bound to rot.

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 Creating awareness among the females by calling them in the
meetings.
 Selecting big and potential farmers first and then after others so
as to avoid the problematic farmers.
 Asking the society to be more strict about the quality parameters
and imposing fine on those who are not following them.
 Advising the farmers not to start sowing before 20th of May to
prevent problem of rottening.
 Hiring trucks of Manali union as they are expert in the hilly
terrains.
 Assisting the farmers in availing the services like soil testing for
pathogens and nutrient analysis.

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