Different constraints faced by the potato farmers during the adoption of recommended practices in Cuttack district of Odisha

Abstract

Potatoes are the most popular vegetable consumed by Indians. Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh are the popular potato-growing states in India. However, the production of potatoes is not up to the mark compared to the demand. Due to a lack of proper awareness and recommended adoption practices, potato farmers are not getting the maximum profit in Odisha. Due to this, the major constraints faced by the potato growers were collected through this study. Purposively, the Cuttack district was selected for the study, and random sampling was followed for the selection of the 120 respondents. The respondents noted the absence of Government control over traders and input suppliers, highlighting potential market inefficiencies and vulnerabilities. The majority of the farmers faced problems in getting credit and finance, which ranked highest with a mean score of 1.82, followed by constraints faced in administrative support (mean score = 1.81) and constraints faced in technological support (mean score = 1.77). However, potato cultivation is a good source of income for farmers' socio-economic development. The agriculture and line departments should arrange adequate, timely training and exposure visits for the potato farmers to overcome all the constraints for their improvement.