Constraints in production, marketing and processing of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in Kurukshetra district of Haryana

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the most important food crop of the world which has always been the poor mans’ crop. The present study was conducted in Kurukshetra district of Haryana on the basis of highest production of potato in this district. Further block Shahabad was taken randomly and a total of thirty potato growers were interviewed by the personal interview method on specially designed well-structured schedule. The results of the study revealed that the major problems faced by the farmers in the production of potato 90.00 percent of the respondents were observed claiming high cost of pesticides, high cost of seed (86.67%), costly storage facilities (86.67%), and difficulty in identifying the pests and diseases (83.33%), labour problem during harvesting (80.00%), absence of minimum support prices (86.67%), lengthy procedure for getting credit from government institutions for marketing purpose (83.33%), high cost of transportation (73.33%), problems in the arrangement of finance (80.00%), shortage of electricity power for processing (76.67%), lack of good quality packaging material (76.67%), fluctuation in raw material and procurement (73.33%).