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Agri expert flags talent dearth in Indian potato industry: ‘Can slow down progress’

S Soundararadjane, the CEO of HyFarm, said the need of the hour is to have experienced breeders develop climate-resilient varieties of the potato crop.

S Soundararadjane, the CEO of HyFarm, at a potato farm. (Express Photo)

S Soundararadjane, the CEO of HyFarm, the agri-business unit of HyFun Foods, an end-to-end company involved in the potato industry, has flagged the shortage of skilled breeders, agronomists, and agricultural engineers in the country, saying that this talent gap has become an obstacle to growth in the sector.

Speaking to The Indian Express in Pune on Thursday, Soundararadjane said the industry now requires trained manpower in every vertical to boost development. “Major growth is expected from the fries and crisps segments, but a lack of talent can make progress slow,” he said.

India is the second-largest producer of potatoes in the world, producing 60 million tonnes annually—second only to China, which has a yield of 96 million tonnes. Frozen French fries from India have proven to be a hit in the international market, with the segment reporting double-digit growth in the last seven years.

Soundararadjane said the need of the hour is to have experienced breeders develop climate-resilient varieties of the crop. “CPRI [Central Potato Research Institute] has done excellent work, but we need to understand that they, too, have limitations in terms of manpower,” he added. The Shimla-based CPRI is the premium research centre for the tuber.

The three main varieties of Indian potatoes are table (92 per cent in terms of production), crisps (used for chips) and fries (used for French fries). Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat are the main states producing the tuber. While Gujarat is the leader in terms of production of potatoes used for fries, MP produces potatoes used for crisps.

“Potato cultivation requires special attention, given the vast opportunities it can unearth for the country. Unfortunately, potatoes are taught as a single crop at state agricultural universities,” Soundararadjane said.

Potato, being a tuber crop, requires special attention in terms of breeding. Most private companies have shied away from investment in the process, and, currently, CPRI is the only body that is releasing new varieties, he said. “But the major chunk of its work has been for the table variety which is used in curries, sabzis, samosas, etc,” he said.

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Potato is one of the three crops prioritised by the Centre under its ‘TOP’ (Tomato, Onion Potato) scheme, where cold storage infrastructure has been built. “But we require work across the value chain,” Soundararadjane said.

“Work in terms of farmer outreach is also necessary to introduce high-end agricultural practices for potato cultivation in the country. But a lack of manpower who can carry out farm extension services is a problem,” he added.

Parthasarathi Biswas

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More

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