India poised to emerge as world's leading potato producer, say international scientists
India is on track to become the world's top potato producer, overtaking China, according to scientists from the Peru-based International Potato Center (Centro Internacional de la Papa – CIP).
Speaking at a science symposium on 'Root and Tuber Crops Research and Development in India and South Asia', international experts projected that India's annual potato production could rise from the current 60 million tonnes to 100 million tonnes by 2050.
Addressing the seminar, chairperson of the CIP Board, Helen Hambly Odame, said the institution's 50-year partnership with India has been instrumental in the country becoming the second largest potato producer globally.
She said India has the capacity to take the top position by continuing to expand cultivation, noting that beyond potatoes, there is also significant potential in scaling up sweet potato and other root crops to drive farmer employment, rural development, nutrition, women's empowerment, and youth engagement in agriculture.
'These crops, of course, will open new opportunities in the value chain partnerships of the private sector entrepreneurship and cooperative and farmers' producers associations and will strengthen the presence of roots and tuber crops,' Prof. Odame said.
Also read | New sweet potato variety developed by ICAR-CTCRI to strengthen tribal food security programmes
She emphasised that tuber crops are resilient to climate change and encourage judicious use of natural resources, particularly water.
Union Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi, addressing the event, said the government has enhanced investment in science and innovation to catalyse agricultural growth. He added that India must simultaneously ensure food security, income security, and nutritional security for its population while responding to the mounting challenges posed by climate change.
'There is scope for more collaborative research in potato and other tuber crops, especially the sweet potato,' Mr. Chaturvedi said.
NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand said the government's growth model remains agriculture-centric and views agriculture as an active driver of the economy.
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