Farmers Protests against the Falling Prices of Potato

For the last few days, the capital city has witnessed a series of protests by farmers, demanding the better prices for vegetables. Some UP farmers distributed free potatoes to the public in protest against the steeply falling prices of the vegetables. “The Chipsona brand of potato which is used to make chips is being sold at Rs 3-3.50 per kg against Rs 8-9 per kg last year”, said, a wholesale potato seller. The protest was organized under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Union and All India Kisan Sangharsha coordination committee. At the same time, the government has come up to the farmers requesting them to keep the crop in cold storages. But in view of the dearth of the cold storages, it is not viable for the farmers to opt that option since the prices fetched for the crop is less than the cost of keeping the crop in cold storage. In the backdrop of the numerous protests, projecting the problems faced by the farmers with chillies, tomatoes, potatoes etc. have raised concerns. It’s time for the government to ponder probable solutions on a long term basis.