Jagjivan Ram, former Union Minister, had extensive knowledge on a variety of sectors. As Union Minister, he handled a broad range of portfolios from agriculture to defence to telecommunications. Addressing economic editors in 1977-78 as Defence Minister, he narrated an interesting experience: “I used to take chappatis with a lot of potato subzi. My wife would insist on my taking more chappatis and complain about my thinning due to underfeeding. She would not consider my treating an extra plate of potato subzi as food!” To relate it fully, the rotund Ram was a fat, hefty man, not wanting intake of food or nourishment! 

Ram explained the fallacy that the spectacular growth in production of potatoes not considered as part of the green revolution. He pointed out that world over potato was considered the fourth item of food production after rice, wheat and corn. That year there was a bumper harvest of potato, of 10 million tonnes, with a handsome jump in productivity. (In 1949-50 production was just 1.54 million tonnes),  a near seven’ fold rise in production! Look at the interesting progression: 10 years later potato production jumped to 20 million tonnes and last year it was close to 50 million tonnes.

Dramatic expansion of area under potato, productivity...

I visited the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), a unit of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, at Shimla in November. Director of the Institute, Dr S K Chakrabarti referred to the dramatic expansion of the area under potato, in productivity and hence of production: “last year production was at a record 49 million tonnes with the area close to 2 million generating handsome surpluses even for export of potato and its products,” he said. Happily, bulk of this comfortable situation is due to the research done over the last seven decades. 

CPRI has seven regional research stations spread across potato growing areas in Himachal Pradesh, UP, Punjab, MP, Bihar, Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu. The different climatic geographies enabled research over different varieties and also serve the different regions. Dr Chakrabarti, an expert on tuber crops, had earlier headed the Central Tapioca Research Station at Thiruvananthapuram for four years and has been familiar with the conditions in the southern region. He pointed to tapioca widely grown in Salem, Namakkal and Erode districts and the extensive industrial production of starch, sago, etc. 

Need to process more...

Dr Chakrabarti said the present sumptuous production of potato was the result of the intense research at CPRI on improved potato varieties and improved production technology developed by the institute. He stressed the emergence of several private sector companies engaged in potato business and the efforts made by CPRI to develop linkages with these. He pointed to the need to go for a much higher level of processing that will reduce the losses suffered at present: “there is the boom and bust cycle in the potato production as well. There is need to develop an efficient processing industry to tackle the problem of glut and ensure stable prices. At present around 8 per cent of the produce is processed thanks to the attention paid to develop special varieties for producing chips, finger chips, etc. But this is against 60 per cent of such processed potatoes in Europe.  An increase in this can help reduce present losses suffered for want of storage and timely marketing of this perishable product, to the extent of 14-15 per cent.”

The Director expressed satisfaction over a rapid increase in cold storage facilities estimated around 7000 units at the end of last year. 90 per cent of this is used for potato, he said. 

UP, the largest producer...

UP is the largest producer of potato followed by Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, and Gujarat. It takes around eight years to develop a new seed variety. The stress on research has helped introduce some seed varieties, specially suited for processing. Until the 1990s, Indian varieties were mostly for table use and were not suited for processing. To sustain potato production and for remunerative prices to the farmer, there is need to have a strong potato processing centre. 

Dr H P Singh of ICAR mentioned: “the major factor impeding the establishment and growth of potato processing was non-availability of high dry matter and low sugar potato varieties required for processing.” The varieties developed by CPRI till 1998 were all meant for  immediate consumption and were not suitable for making good quality processed products. 

The special varieties developed at CPRI tested and multiplied through quality seeds like Kufri Arun, Kufri Lalit, Kufri Chipsona, Kufri Frysona have been received well by large multinationals like PepsiCo India, Channo, Satnam, Golden Fries, Merino, etc. 

A winter crop in India, summer crop in western countries

The sustained work put in by CPRI helped develop varieties suited to Indian agro-climatic conditions. Potato originated in South America travelled through Europe to India some 400 years ago. But there are vast variations in raising this crop which is a major food crop for over a seventh of the global population. In the western countries with temperate climates, potato is grown in summer that have longer days and mostly as a rain fed crop. The duration is also long extending 120-180 days. Harvesting is followed by the cold winter that facilitates easy storing and much longer shelf life. 

In contrast, in India, potato is mostly grown as a winter crop due to the needs of lower temperature. This means much shorter days. Again the crop is raised under irrigated conditions in the plains. Dr Chakrabarti explained that the shorter days suppress growth and hasten tuberisation. The rapidly rising temperatures also accelerate senescence (biological ageing). These result in a much shorter crop duration of 70-100 days. The much less sunshine received by the plants and a high evaporation due to the dry season, subject the crops to water stress. Hence, varieties and production technology developed by the western countries for the long day, long duration, rain-fed conditions are not suitable for the vastly different conditions of India. It is here that CPRI’s research has helped in developing techniques for raising the crop specifically suited to conditions in various parts of India. This CPRI scientist claimed that this brown revolution (potato) is much more remarkable than that of any of the green revolution crops: he pointed out that the average annual growth in potato production is higher than even that of wheat. 

From the tradition of using potato as a table subzi, with abundance in production and expanding market, arose the need for processing it into chips, French fries… An IIT Chemical engineer has developed varieties for making aloo tikki. 

In my meeting in 1998, Dr G S Kang who headed the Potato Research Station, Jalandhar, pointed to the enhanced value and hence returns to the farmer. I noticed at that time the ingenuity of American companies like PepsiCo to adding value to the ordinary potato procured in bulk at around Rs 3 per kg, processed it into ruffles and sold it at Rs 200 per kg! It is much higher today!

CPRI has developed 53 varieties. Six of these are specially developed for processing. 

There has been a large increase in productivity of potato: from around 6.6 t/ha in 1949-50 to around 24 t/ha today; it is still half the level achieved in Europe.  Dr Chakrabarti pointed to the much higher level of productivity achieved in Gujarat exceeding 50 t/ha. To meet the huge increase in demand estimated with the rising population, there will be the need to expand the area under potato as also to increase average productivity.

We return to the practical wisdom of Jagjivan Ram: to go for an additional plate of potato instead of one more chappati and get the satisfaction of a more balanced and more nutritive intake.n