‘Potato Mission’ next year in State

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to boost potato production in the State, the government has decided to embark upon a 'Potato Mission' from the coming year.

Reviewing the report of the Task Force on Potato, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik emphasised on preservation of the tuber in ample quantity to deal with scarcity.

It was also decided in the review meeting that steps would be taken to renovate the existing cold-storages in the State.

Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, Patnaik said, "The State government has decided to launch Potato Mission from 2015-16 to make the State self-sufficient in potato production."

“The government will continue to give capital subsidy for setting up new cold-storages as per the Agricultural Policy-2013. The government is also considering to provide tariff subsidy for existing and new cold-storages made operational before March 31, 2018," the CM said, adding the government is also incentivize potato seed and crop production within the State for next three years.

In order to face untimely scarcity, the government is considering about buffer stock of the tuber. "We will also maintain a buffer stock to deal with short-term scarcity situation," he told the media.