Varied climatic conditions across the country provide opportunity of round the year potato production in India. The advantage has been thoroughly exploited by potato processing industry for round the year supply of raw material and seed potato producers for taking double crop to ensure faster multiplication. However, the country still has tremendous scope of further progress in this direction.
At present 1210 million people of India consume potato mainly as vegetable. However a population of much richer 1619 million people (NCAP estimates) during 2050, out of which more than 840 million being urban (against the current 375 million) and much higher proportion of working women and nuclear families, will totally transform the demographic structure of India. Incidentally this change will be conducive for higher demand for potato (as vegetables and fast food ingredients) and processed potato products in the future. Fast increment in per capita as well as total household consumption of potato in India during recent past is expected to sustain in the foreseeable future hence; there is great potential of enhancing potato production in the country. The gradual shift of potato cultivation from developed nations to the developing ones provides great scope of potato exports in the future for countries like India.
Strong existing potato research and development base and adequate preparedness for future challenges is expected to provide requisite support to the future needs of potato industry in India. Application of new science in the fields of bio-technology, nanotechnology, genomics, phenomics, diagnostics, precision farming, aeroponics, ICT, GIS and remote sensing has already been successfully demonstrated by the CPRI. We expect these areas to serve the cause of future potato R&D in a big way. The available physical and scientific infrastructure at CPRI is enough for not only further accelerating potato R&D momentum at national level but also for emerging as a leading global player, especially in the tropics and subtropics. However, sustained efforts will be made to upgrade these facilities and pursue rigorous human resource development at the institute level.
