Centre’s potato procurement price is just half of input cost, allege farmers’ bodies

A day after the Union Agriculture Ministry announced the procurement of 20 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of potatoes at the rate of ₹6.5 per kg (₹6,500.9 per metric tonne) from Uttar Pradesh, where the prices have fallen due to various factors, including unseasonal rains, farmers on Sunday (April 19, 2026) said that the amount is less than half of their input cost. Welcoming the decision to procure approximately 10% of the total potato production in the State, the farmers, however, said the Centre should procure potatoes for at least ₹12 per kg.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the first week of March, highlighting the plight of potato farmers. Mr. Tikait had said in the letter that the Centre should announce at least ₹1,500 per quintal (₹15 per kg) as support price for potatoes. He had also demanded that industries for value addition and processing be promoted in the potato belt of the State.