Hassan district administration has advised merchants to sell seed potatoes to farmers for a price not exceeding ₹2,800 per quintal.
Deputy Commissioner R. Girish held a meeting with representatives of the merchants’ association and officers of the Horticulture Department in Hassan on Thursday. He said ₹2,800 per quintal should be the maximum price .
Potato is a major cash crop for farmers in parts of Hassan, Arsikere, Holenarsipur, Channarayapatna, and Arkalgud taluks in the district. Merchants procure seed potatoes from Jalandhar in Punjab. The merchants argued that they procure seed potatoes by paying up to ₹2,000 per quintal, besides the transportation expenses. They urged the administration to fix the price at ₹3,000 per quintal. However, the administration arrived at ₹ 2,800 per quintal.
The DC said that the sale of seed potatoes would begin on May 9. The farmers could start sowing seeds only after treating seed potatoes for about a week.
Guidance
The Department of Horticulture has constituted teams of officers to guide farmers on potato cultivation. The officers would be visiting the fields in their respective taluks and interact with farmers.
