The plunge in potato prices has begun to tell on the lives of growers. At least two growers have committed suicide in the last two days, reports from districts said.

“There have been reports of two farmer suicides but we are yet to ascertain the exact reasons,” State Agriculture Minister Purnendu Bose told BusinessLine .

While one farmer committed suicide in Burdwan district, another ended his life in Hooghly district. Both these districts are top producers of the tuber crop.

Prices of potato in West Bengal have plummeted by another 24 per cent to ₹160 for a 50-kg bag (₹3.2/kg) at the farm-end compared wit last week.

A bumper crop, coupled with by weak demand from neighbouring States, has triggered the price crash.

According to reports, many farmers are allowing the crop to rot on the field with prices ruling so low.

Govt buying

Responding to the situation, the State Agricultural Marketing Department on Wednesday decided to start procuring potatoes at ₹5 a kg from farmers. This will be sold through the State run fair price shops.

According to Bose, procurement targets would be set on a daily basis, depending on the market conditions. “Our attempt is to push-up prices at the farm-end,” he said.

This apart, the State government will procure another 50,000 tonnes over the next one-month to meet the demand of ICDS centres and schools for running the mid-day meal programme.

Transport subsidy

To boost exports to other States, West Bengal on Wednesday offered subsidy of ₹50 a quintal on railway freight and ₹100 a quintal on shipping charges. The subsidy scheme will be operational till June 30.

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