India: Horticulture Minister emphasizes the need to make Punjab’s potato seeds a recognized brand

While visiting the Centre of Excellence for Potatoes in Dhogri, where potato seeds are cultivated under the Indo-Dutch plan, the Minister emphasized the need to brand Punjab’s potato seeds at world level. He urged officials to not only focus on domestic markets but also plan for export to foreign countries. He mentioned that this would increase the income of potato farmers.

The Minister shared that potatoes are cultivated annually on a total of 117,066 hectares of land in Punjab, out of which around 60 to 65 percent is used for seed production. This high-quality seed is supplied to all states across the country for potato cultivation, making Punjab a key player. He explained that various high-tech methods are used at the Centre of Excellence for Potato to produce this quality seed.

Following this, the Minister also visited the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables in Kartarpur, where he gained detailed information about safe farming practices, long-lasting crops, modern machinery, sorting/grading lines, and the hydroponic unit.

On this occasion, the Minister stressed the importance of raising awareness among farmers about the techniques adopted at the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables, and linking them with beneficial farming practices. He urged farmers to move away from traditional crop cycles and adopt crop diversification on a larger scale. He also emphasized the need to cultivate crops/vegetables that consume less water, stating that it is the need of the hour. Farmers should move away from the traditional wheat-rice crop cycle and adopt high-tech farming methods. The Minister reaffirmed that the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, is always ready to provide all possible support to farmers.

Deputy Commissioner Dr. Himanshu Agarwal assured the Horticulture Minister that more farmers would be connected with the Centre’s activities and encouraged to adopt crop diversification. 

Several progressive farmers from Jalandhar participated in the meeting wherein the Minister discussed with the farmers about the government facilities needed to further promote horticulture besides listened to their suggestions. SDM Balbir Raj Singh and the entire staff of the Centre was also present on this occasion.