Exploring Indian Potato Sector: From Farm to Table
摘要
Worldwide potato is an important staple food crop after cereals. With the ever-growing population, food and nutritional security remains a challenge, and potato could be an important food choice for this. Today, globally India ranks second in potato production, but productivity remains a point of worry. Moreover, challenges like degeneration, storage in summer season, dependence on informal seed potato system, and limited processing prevail in potato business. Changing consumption preferences aggravates demand for ready-to-eat potatoes; however, only 7–8% of the total production is processed in India. Climate change is a global threat and also a significant threat to potato production. Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and increased frequency of extreme weather events can negatively impact yield and quality. Climate change is not only affecting the frequency of pest and disease occurrences in potato but also creating supply chain disruptions. Greater participation of stakeholders (public and private enterprise) in collaborative research, extension, and business may result in greater adoption of climate-resilient practices, securing profitability in potato farming business for small and marginal farmers. In this chapter we will try to understand various pertinent issues in Indian potato sector.