The Cabinet decided to increase the support price of potato under the market intervention scheme which will benefit farmers from Kanpur to Agra — a bastion of the Samajwadi Party.

The support price of potato was raised from Rs 250 per quintal to Rs 300 per quintal.

Official agencies like the state Horticulture department and Horticulture Cooperative Federation will purchase 1 lakh tonne potato. The farmers will also be given a transport subsidy at the rate of Rs 25 per quintal for export of around 40,000 tonne. The subsidy bill is estimated to be Rs 1 crore.

Incidentally, the government had announced a market intervention scheme for potato in the last season as well. One lakh MT of potato was to be purchased at a rate of Rs 250 per quintal, but actually only 130 quintal of potato was procured by the state agencies through 29 potato purchase centres across 16 districts.

The Cabinet also decided to increase subsidy on bio fertilizers - from 75 per cent to 90 per cent. Subsidy on bio-agents, bio-pesticides, gypsum and zinc sulphate was also increased. Gypsum, sprinkler and drip systems used for irrigation will be exempted from VAT.

Increase in subsidy on fertilizers and bio-pesticides will incur an expenditure of Rs 86 crore. The private sector will also get a subsidy on the production and marketing of certified seeds, which will involve an estimated expenditure of Rs 59 crore.

The potato farmers in the state have been cursing the bumper crop for the second consecutive year now. Against a production of 100 to 105 lakh MT last year, production this year is likely to be a record 130 lakh MT. As a result, the price of potato has crashed.

In Agra division — the potato belt of UP — as many as 10 lakh bags of potato from the last season, kept in cold storages, was destroyed when the farmers refused to use it due to the glut in the market. The state accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the potato produced in India.