Small and marginal potato farmers in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts have been left in a dilemma as cold storage owners in the region are saying their spaces have been completely filled. Local potato growers are worried about how they will save some of the tubers for sale during the off-season, and to use as seeds for the next season. Farmers began desperately searching for a place to store their potatoes after cold storage operators announced the lack of space. While farmers blame a “nexus” between cold storage owners, a section of middlemen and hoarders for the situation, cold storage owners claim they distributed preservation slips on a “first come, first served” basis.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Thakurgaon said growers cultivated the tuber on 27,677 hectares of land against a target of 28,515 hectares with a production target of 679,798 tonnes. Of the total land being used, 656,999 tonnes of potatoes have already been harvested from 25,492 hectares of land as of Wednesday. In Panchagarh, farmers produced about 2.18 lakh tonnes of potatoes by cultivating 9,870 hectares of land against a target of 9,950 hectares with the production target of 207,259 tonnes. However, the 16 cold storages in Thakurgaon can preserve just 1.37 lakh tonnes of potatoes while the six cold storages in Panchagarh can hold a measly 31,450 tonnes.
The potato production target for this year will be exceeded as the areas witnessed good yield despite facing untimely rain, but storage facilities in these districts are very inadequate. Experts said if the farmers fail to preserve seed potatoes, cultivation will be hampered next season. Few high-yielding varieties, such as Asterisk, Granulla, Sunshine (BADC Alu-1) can be preserved for about three months for consumption or late sale. After the mentioned duration, the tubers start sprouting.
Taking advantage of the shortage of storage space, traders and hoarders who booked storage’s space earlier are buying potatoes for between Tk 7 and Tk 9 per kilogram. The government should extend its helping hands to the farmers for sustainable food security.
