Bihar potato farmer sets new world mark

The potato farmer, Rakesh Kumar, has harvested 108.8 tonnes of potato per hecrtare and set a new world record in potato production, Nalanda district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agrawal said on Monday. Last year, a farmer of Darveshpura village in Nalanda had set a world record in potato production through organic farming.

“Rakesh Kumar has created a new world record in potato production through organic farming. It was verified by experts, scientists and officials,” Agrawal said.

He said several officials and agricultural experts were present in the field at harvest time to verify the claim and record it.

According to him, last March, a potato farmer, Nitish Kumar, harvested 72.9 tonnes of potato per hectare and set a world record. Till then, the world record was 45 tonnes per hectare, held by farmers in the Netherlands. Earlier, farmers of the village in Nalanda had created a world record by producing 224 quintals of paddy per hectare.

Rakesh Kumar, who is also chairman of the Nalanda Organic Vegetable Growers’ Federation, said he used his learning, inquisitiveness and innovation to deploy high density plantation technique, used for enhancing mango, litchi and guava production, for growing the kufri pukhraj variety of potato to lift the old benchmark to an entirely new level. “The big-sized potato also helped to make a difference,” an upbeat Rakesh said.

District horticulture officer D.N. Mahto said the achievement occurred because of the use of organic methods. “Once again, the organic method of farming proved superior to other methods of farming,” he said.

Mahto said the loam soil of the village is suitable for several crops, including potato. “The new record will certainly go a long way in removing doubts about low production associated with organic farming and encourage other farmers to adopt it,” he said.