Journal of Global Resources
Volume 6 (02)
July 2020
Page 29-36
doi.org/10.46587/JGR.2020.v06i02.005
ISSN: 2395-3160 (Print), 2455-2445 (Online)

05
TRENDS AND PERSPECTIVES OF SUSTAINABLE POTATO PRODUCTION
IN ALIGARH DISTRICT, INDIA
Nizamuddin Khan1, Anisur Rehman2, Mohd. Sadiq Salman3 and Kamal Asif4
1
Professor, Department of Geography, A.M.U., Aligarh, India
2
Ex-Guest Faculty, Department of Geography, A.M.U., Aligarh, India
3
Guest Faculty, Department of Geography, J.M.I., New Delhi, India
4
Head, Department of Geography, D.P.S., Aligarh, India
Email: kasif2006bustan@gmail.com, mmsadiqsalman@gmail.com
Abstract: The rural population in India is largely engaged in vegetable cultivation apart fromtraditional agricultural practices. Vegetable cultivation has gained impetus since last decades
due to increasing health awareness, population growth, urbanization and better marketing
facilities. Earlier, small land holders used to grow vegetables but now with increasing demandand higher remunerations large land holders have also shifted towards vegetable cultivation.
Potato is widely used due to its low cost, easy handling and transportation and its higher shelf
life as compare to other vegetables. The present paper analyzes the dynamics of potato
cultivation in Aligarh district, which is one the leading producing area of India. This paper tends
to find out temporal change in the area under potato cultivation and substantial increase in the
total production. There are promising benefits to the potato farmers and good prospects infuture due increasing cold storage and agro-processing facilities. The present study also
discusses the role various institutional, socio-economic, marketing and policy oriented factors
constraining potato cultivation in the study area.
Key words: Potato Cultivation, Veg. Farming, Agricultural Marketing, Farmers’ Sustainability
Introduction
India with diverse soil and climate comprising several agro-ecological regions provides ample
opportunity to grow a variety of horticultural crops. These crops form a significant part of total
agricultural produce in the country which covers fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, flowers,
and ornamental, medicinal and aromatic plants, spices, condiments, plantation crops andmushrooms. Cultivation of these crops is labour intensive and generates lot of employment
opportunities for the rural population. India, with more than 66 million tonnes of vegetables is
the second largest producer vegetables in the world next only to Brazil and China (Economic
Census 2005). Thus, cultivation of diversified crops plays a vital role in the prosperity of thenation and is directly linked with the health and happiness of the people (Asif, K. et al., 2016).
Potato is a starchy tuber of the plant Solanum tuberosum, native to the Andes in SouthAmerica. It was introduced in Europe by the Spanish invaders and diffused to several countries.
It is grown in more than 125 countries and consumed almost daily by more than a billion people.
Hundreds of millions of people in developing countries depend on potatoes for their survival.
Potato is also referred as the ‘food of the poor’. In India also potato is reported to be very
important during the times of food scarcity (Shakeel, et al., 2012). Once harvested, potatoes
can be used for a variety of purposes: as a fresh vegetable for cooking at home, as raw material
for processing into food products, food ingredients, starch and alcohol, as feed for animals, andas seed tubers for growing the next season’s crop (FAO, 2009).
Potato cultivation is expanding strongly in the developing world, where the potato’s easeof cultivation and nutritive content has made it a valuable food security and cash crop for
millions of farmers. Developing countries are now the world’s biggest producers and importersof potatoes and potato products. In India, potato was introduced by the Portuguese during 17th
29Century AD. It was first cultivated in the mountains of the Western Ghats, Nilgiris and later on in
the North India. At present potato is the most important and widely used vegetable in India. As
a vegetable, potato is cultivated in almost all states of India. The major potato producing States
are Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Assam.
Vegetable cultivation under market gardening is an important component of the value added
cropping system of Indian agriculture. Earlier vegetables were cultivated as subsistence crops
along with cereals, pulses and oilseeds and occupied a meagre share of total cropped area ofthe country. It is a caste oriented activity and mainly cultivated at small scale (Deshingkar P. et
al. 2003). The cultivation of vegetable was traditionally confined to certain castes and still
persists in larger parts of the country. Hence, this kind of cropping system could not get proper
attention by the policy makers as well as by large farmers.
Table 01: State wise Production of Potato and its Share (in Percent)State/UTs
Uttar PradeshWest Bengal
Bihar
Gujarat
Madhya Pradesh
PunjabHaryanaAssam
Chhattisgarh
Jharkhand
Maharashtra
Karnataka
Uttarakhand
OdishaRajasthan
Meghalaya
Himachal Pradesh
TripuraJammu & Kashmir
Nagaland
Tamil Nadu
SikkimAndhra Pradesh
KeralaMizoramTelangana
Arunachal Pradesh

Five Year Average(2012-13 to 2016-17)
Production
Percent Share
14502.63
31.96
10425.58
22.97
6449.06
14.21
3015.686.64
2858.30
6.30
2278.43
5.02
769.171.69
1039.312.29
625.871.38
653.61
1.44
335.970.74
558.041.23
403.040.89
260.130.57
166.930.37
184.750.41
210.560.46
146.880.32
127.96
0.28
57.74
0.13
103.25
0.23
51.18
0.11
74.51
0.16
7.71
0.02
2.01
0.00
61.82
0.14
1.13
0.00

Others
14.70
TOTAL
45383.50
Source: State Departments of Horticulture & Agriculture

0.03
100.00The Table 01 shows the state wise average share of potato production in India for thelast five years. It is revealed that the whole Indo-Gangetic Plain is important for potato
cultivation and the largest production is reported from Uttar Pradesh (31.96 percent) followed byWest Bengal (22.97 percent ) and Bihar (14.21 percent). Among the Himalayan states a good
performance has shown by the states of Uttarakhand (0.89 percent) and Himachal Pradesh(0.46 percent). In the North Eastern region, Assam (2.29 percent) followed by Meghalaya (0.41
percent) is the leading producer. Whereas, in the peninsular region Karnataka (1.23 percent),
followed by Maharashtra (0.74 percent) and Tamil Nadu (0.23 percent), is the leading. However,
the other states of peninsular region are lacking in potato cultivation.
30

The present paper aims to understand the dynamics of potato cultivation in the Northern
Plains of Ganga River with the help of a case study. Aligarh district in the doab (land between
two rivers) region of western Uttar Pradesh has been selected as study area (Asif, K., 2014).
This region is a well-known potato belt of India. Here potato cultivation has a boon due to theavailability of sandy loam soils and suitable climatic condition during winter season (rabi season
between October and March). In the present study researchers analyze the area and productionof potato in various development blocks of Aligarh District to understand the future prospects ofpotato cultivation. The paper intends to highlights the problems of the farmers, particularly
related to the storage, marketing and processing.
About the Study Area
The Aligarh district is situated in the semi-arid eco-system of the Western Uttar Pradesh.
Geographically, Aligarh district is located in the fertile tract of rivers the Ganga and the Yamuna
between 27o29’ to 28o11’ N latitudes and 77o29’ to 78o38’ E longitudes. There are 5
Tehsils/subdivisions and 12 development blocks in the district. The total geographical area is3650 sq.km, with a population of 36,73,849 (1,951,996 males and 1,721,893 females) (Census,
2011). The district has a population density of 1,007 persons per sq. km. The population growthrate over the decade 2001-2011 was 22.78 percent. Aligarh has a sex ratio of 876 females forevery 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 69.61 percent. About 65 percent of the workforce isengaged in agricultural activities. There are 1210 villages and 13 townships, 96 rural markets
and 4 regulated markets in the study area for transaction of vegetables in the study area. The
district is further sub- divided into 12 developmental blocks (Figure 01). Vegetable cultivation isan age-old farming system in Aligarh district.
Figure 01: Study Area: Aligarh District (2019)

The region experiences sub-tropical monsoon type of climate characterized by distinct
seasonal rhythm. Summers start around April and continue till June with a mean maximum
temperature of 40oC, occasionally shooting up to 46°C, while during winters it goes as low as
4oC. The average annual rainfall is about 55 cm that follow the summer season and usually
starts up to the end of the June (Asif, K., 2014). Aligarh district is an extensive plain comprising
alluvial soils, which are characterized by their depth and gray-brown colour. Their texture varies
from sandy, sandy loam to clay loam. Jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, paddy, arhar and moong are
major crops during kharif, while wheat, mustard, green peas and potato are commonly grown in31

rabi season. Cotton and sugarcane (with small area) are major cash crops of the district.
Vegetable cultivation is largely confined to small and marginal farmers who are located mainly inthe peri-urban areas (Khan N. et al., 2012).
Database and Methodology
The present study is based on secondary sources of data obtained from statistical bulletin of
Aligarh district. The latest data available for block wise area under potato cultivation was used
for the present work. Thus, block wise data from 2001- 2016 was used in the present study.
The data regarding area, production and yield of potato in the district has been processed andcomputed. The study carries out with simple statistical techniques to analyze and interpret data.
The dataset obtained was analyzed to understand the prospects of potato cultivation and thechanges in trends of area, production and productivity of potato in the study area.
Analysis and Discussion
The Table 02 shows the block wise distribution of area under potato cultivation since 2001. It
reveals that the area under potato cultivation during 2001 was only 5,425 hectares which
increased to 24,987 hectares in 2016 (Figure 02). Thus a growth of 19,562 hectares (360.59
percent) took place over last 15 years. The steep rise in the area under potato cultivation islargely due to increasing population, better marketing and transportation facilities, rising
consciousness of health benefits from vegetable intake, increasing urban demand for processedfood items and agro-processing industries. The block wise variation is also observed in the
study area. It varied from 89 hectares in Atrauli to 7,176 hectares in Iglas, during last 15 years.
Thus, it was observed that all the blocks have small area under potato cultivation while only few
blocks gave large area under its cultivation.
Table 02: Block wise Distribution of Area under Potato Cultivation (2001-2016)
Block wise Area Under Potato Cultivation (in hectares)
Block
2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Bijauli

244

156

216

187

230

248

256

335

422

330

353

363

331

321

350

393

Jawan

165

217

221

123

188

189

194

254

268

338

370

380

341

342

409

405

Akrabad

130

139

177

204

201

231

301

394

481

404

452

464

424

465

480

505

Gangiri

258

283

378

358

391

392

446

584

671

495

476

489

446

419

411

552

Atrauli

540

463

564

590

533

522

650

891

938

498

565

580

529

581

590

629

Tappal

28

17

215

261

200

134

133

174

184

798

773

794

724

744

821

861

Chandaus

174

151

220

89

230

342

289

378

399

660

926

951

868

902

1105

1032

Dhanipur

371

245

351

333

306

305

235

308

325

603

969

995

908

900

980

1080

Khair

39

637

702

823

772

508

505

661

698

1859

1883

1934

1765

1783

1788

2079

Lodha

261

276

398

339

496

817

989

1294

1365

1736

1978

2032

1854

1924

2099

2206

Gonda

861

845

1215

1313

1487

2575

3268

4277

4513

4410

5127

5266

4805

5201

5429

5715

Iglas

2354

2318

377

3763

3411

5437

6184

8094

8242

7501

8549

8781

8012

9210

9620

9530

Total

5425

5747

5034

8383

8445

11700

13450

17644

18506

19632

22421

23029

21007

22792

24082

24987

Source: Statistical Booklets (2001-2016)

Figure 02: Total Area under Potato Cultivation in Aligarh District (2001-2016)

AREA (in hectares)

Area under Potato Cultivation in Aligarh District (2001-2016)
30000
20000
10000
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

YEAR

32

The change in area under potato cultivation was observed in all the blocks in the district.
Although there is an overall growth of 19,562 hectare in the total area under potato cultivation
since last 15 years there is a large variation at the block level. All the blocks have shown apositive change although with high level of variations(Table 03).The maximum change wasobserved in Iglas block (7,176 hectares) followed by Gonda (4,854 hectares) and Khair block(2,040 hectares). It was observed that largest change has taken place in Iglas followed byGonda blocks which had the largest and second largest area under potato during 2001 also. In
2001 Atrauli had third position in area under potato cultivation but it has shown minimum growthof only 89 hectares. Further Khair, Lodha, Tappal and Chandaus blocks have shown an
exceptional growth during the same period. These blocks are adjoining the Iglas and Gonda
block and people have gradually devoted their land to potato cultivation. Further, thedevelopment of marketing facilities over the last decade due to development of efficienttransport networks, better connectivity to adjoining areas and increase in the number of cold
storage facilities in these blocks has helped in growth of potato cultivation in the western blocksof the district.
Table 03: Block wise Growth of Area under Potato Farming (2001-2016)
Name of Block
2001
Iglas
2354
Gonda
861
Khair
39
Lodha
261
Chandaus
174
Tappal28
Dhanipur
371
Akrabad130
Gangiri
258
Jawan
165
Bijauli
244
Atrauli
540
Total District
5425
Source: Statistical Booklets (2001-2016)

2016
9530
5715
2079
2206
1032
861
1080
505
552
405
393
629
26374

Change (2001-2016)
Hectares
Percent
7176
304.844854
563.762040
5230.77
1945
745.21
858
493.10833
2975.00709
191.11375
288.46294
113.95240
145.45
149
61.07
89
16.48
20949
386.16

Table 04: Area, Yield and Total Production of Potato in Aligarh District (2001-2016)
Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

Total Area
(hectares)
5425
5747
5034
8383
8445
11700
13450
17644
18506
19632
22421
23029
21007
22792
24082
24987

Yield
(quintals/hectares)
263.49261.46245.22225.25283.80232.62234.03213.39220.52271.47245.92230.92276.18249.26259.8
267.05

Source: Statistical Booklets (2001-2016)33

Production(quintals)
1429433.25
1502610.62
1234437.48
1888270.75
2396691.00
2721654.00
3147703.50
3765053.16
4080943.12
5329499.04
5513772.32
5317856.68
5801713.26
5681133.92
6256503.60
6672778.35

The Table 04 shows the area, yield and production of potato from 2001 to 2016. It wasobserved that the area under potato has increased considerable but yield has not increased
significantly. The yield of potato in 2001 was 263.49 quintals/hectare which became 267.05
quintals/hectare in 2016. Thus, we can easily conclude that heavy increase in the production ofpotato is associated with the increase in area rather than yield which has remained almost thesame since 2001. However, there may have overall fluctuation in the yield due to yearlyvariations in the inputs and climatic elements. This shows that, the traditional practice is still
followed and new methods and techniques to increase the yield of the crop is not available oradopted by the farmers in the study area.
Table 05: Change in Total Production of Potato in Aligarh District (2001-2016)
Change in Production

Year

Production(quintals)

In Quintals(in Percent)2001

1429433.25

-

-

2002

1502610.62

73177.37

5.12

2003

1234437.48-268173.00-17.84

2004

1888270.75

653833.30

52.96

2005

2396691.00

508420.30

26.93

2006

2721654.00

324963.00

13.56

2007

3147703.50

426049.50

15.65

2008

3765053.16

617349.70

19.61

2009

4080943.12

315890.00

8.39

2010

5329499.04

1248556.00

30.59

2011

5513772.32

184273.30

3.46

2012

5317856.68-195916.00

-3.55

2013

5801713.26

483856.60

9.09

2014

5681133.92-120579.34

-2.08

2015

6256503.60

575369.68

10.13

2016
6672778.35
416274.75
Source: Computed by the Researchers based on Table 04

6.65

Figure 03: Total Production of Potato in Aligarh District (2001-2016)

Total Production of Potato in Aligarh District (2001-2016)
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0

Production (000 Quintals)

3 per. Mov. Avg. (Production (000 Quintals))

The total production of potato in the study area has increased from 14,29,433.25
quintals in 2001 to 66,72,778.35 quintals in 2016. Thus, an increase of 52,43,345.10 quintals
has been recorded during 15 years. This accounted for an average annual increase of34

3,49,556.34 quintals. The production has increased regularly since the area under cultivation
has increased steadily over the last 15 years (Figures 02 and 03). There is a regular increase inproduction over the last 13 years apart from 2003 and 2012 which showed a decline in potato
production. The minimum increase in volume of potato production was 73,177.37 quintals foundin 2002 whereas maximum increase was observed to be 12,48,556 quintals in 2010 followed by
6,53,833.3 quintals in 2004. Further, in terms of increase in percentage the minimum was 3.46
percent in 2011 whereas the maximum increase was observed as 52.96 percent in 2004 (Table
05).
Figure 04 Potato Farming and Harvesting in the Iglas Block of Aligarh District

Source: Photographs composed by the researcher.

Factors Constraining the Potato Cultivation and Production
Production Related Factors
Socio-Economic Factors
Policy & Institutional Factors
 Physical environment and Social support to farmers
 Neglect of the potato subsector
production zones
 High production costs
 Inadequate capacity building
Initiatives.
 Cultivation methods
 Lack of credits
 Soil conservation
 Lack of support to farmers
 Price instability
Organizations.
 Water management
 Inefficiency of local markets
 Entrepreneurship development
 Pest and disease mgmt.
 Limited access to higher
 Research institutions
 Harvestingvalue markets.
 Skill Development programmes Storage and transport Lack of industrial support
 Diffusion and expansion
 Technology Infrastructure Post-harvest management
Source: Based on the Report ‘Sustainable Potato Production: Guidelines for Developing Countries,
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 2009

Conclusion
The area under potato cultivation in Aligarh district has observed a substantial increase from5,425 hectares in 2001 to 24,987 hectares in 2016 as a result of which the production too has
increased many times i.e. 14,29,433.25 quintals in 2001 to 66,72,778.35 quintals in 2016. Thishas shown sustainability in potato production in the district, which directly associated with thesocio-economic growth of farmers. However, the potato farmers facing the constraints such as
fluctuation in potato price, storage problems, potato seeds, irrigation, high price of diesel, notgets pesticides and fertilizers easily on subsidized rates. Many potato farmers especially small
farmers store a small portion of their crops face so many problems in cold storage. If the proper35policy for potato production and marketing implemented by the government potato can be used
for several purposes like starch, alcohol, potato chips etc. (Singh and Rai, 2011). thegovernment can also earn foreign exchange from the export of potato and potato products.
Socio-economic development of small and marginal farmers is also expected throughproper vegetable cultivation and marketing in rural areas. Still, many constraints in increasing
productivity and use of new technology are being faced by Indian farmers (Prakash, 2009).
Adoption of rural marketing system may leads to some change because it provides a platform
for employment, income, social change. Rural markets must link with bigger markets, which isonly possible when proper transportation network is provided. Improved infrastructure andinstitutional arrangement such as private storage facilities, consciousness of food quality andstandard among small income group even in village area also led to enhancement in vegetable
cultivation. In addition, the processing of farm produce can also play an important role inconserving the farming systems and effective utilization of the produce (Asif, et al., 2016).
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