The State government has decided to offer a support price of ₹14,700 per hectare of potato land in Hassan district. This is expected to benefit over 10,000 farmers in the district. Of the amount, ₹7,500 is towards subsidy on purchase of seed potatoes and ₹7,200 towards medicines.
Potato is one among the short-term cash crop for growers in Hassan. There were years when farmers would grow the crop in 40,000 acres. In recent years, following a dip in rainfall and late blight attack, cultivation has come down drastically. Last year, over 13,000 acres of land were covered by potato. However, this year it is only 8,600 acres.
The government has thought of support price to encourage farmers to take up potato cultivation. D. Manjunath, Deputy Director of Horticulture, told The Hindu that around 10,400 farmers have submitted applications seeking the support price. “The amount will be released based on inspection. Farmers should have the crop on their field, besides receipts of purchase of seed potatoes and medicines,” he said. The officer has also appealed to farmers to spray medicines to avoid late blight on the crop.
