Indian farmer eyes record with potato crop
Young farmer wants record in potato production through organic farming
Patna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar's dream of transforming Bihar into the engine of India's second green revolution has received new impetus.
A young farmer of Darveshpura village in the chief minister's native Nalanda district has set what is claimed to be a world record in potato production through organic farming.
Three months ago, a group of farmers in the same village had claimed a ‘world record' producing 224 quintals of paddy per hectare using the SRI (System of Rice Intensification) method.
The potato farmer, a namesake of Nitish Kumar, said he harvested 72.9 tonnes of tuber per hectare. The current world record of 45 tonnes per hectare is held by Dutch farmers.
Nalanda district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agrawal said that several officials and agricultural experts were present in Nitish Kumar's field during the harvest to verify his claim and record it. "The world record is the result of hard labour and experiment with organic farming," he told IANS.
Kumar Kishore Nanda, a soil scientist, who helped Nitish in his farming, said his success was a result of the organic method of farming. "Once again the organic method of farming proved superior to other methods of farming."
Rajesh Umath, a district horticulture officer, said the new record will go a long way in removing doubts about low production associated with organic farming and encourage other farmers to adopt it.
Leading district
Nalanda, the home district of the chief minister, is already the leading potato producing-district in Bihar with the crop accounting for over 27,000 hectares.
Bihar is the third largest potato-producing state after Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Last year, five farmers of the village staked claim to a world record when they produced 224 quintals of paddy per hectare.
Sumant Kumar produced 224 quintals of paddy per hectare beating the record of Yuan Longping of China, who managed 190 quintals of paddy per hectare. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has certified Sumant Kumar's record.
