Gujarat potato farmers love Lady Rosetta

Red, right size and low on sugar, Lady Rosetta is the flavour of the season for north Gujarat’s farmers.

Easy to process, this Dutch variety of potato is also earning them close to double that of other varieties.

While the average farmgate price for the traditional varieties is Rs 6 a kg this rabi season, the red potato is selling at Rs 11-12/kg, officials and farmers said.

The variety gets its name from its red outer skin. The Lady Rosetta (LR) variety originated in the Netherlands, is almost sugarless, unlike other varieties, and is increasingly the favourite of chips and wafer makers such as PepsiCo, McCain, Uncle Chipps and Balaji, either through contract farming or in the open market.

Red potato farming began three years ago on an experimental basis in the north Gujarat districts of Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, and Mehsana and has now taken over the region.

Gopaldas Sharma, a potato expert, said a thousand farmers now cultivate the variety on nearly 7,000 hectare across the region on a commercial basis.

Contract farmers have sold their produce at an average price of Rs 8.50/kg, while the open market price has been Rs 10-11/ kg this season that will end by March-end.

Source: The Hindu Business Line