News on Potato Cultivation from Nepal

The International Potato Center (CIP) is driving an initiative to enhance potato production capacity by training scientists from Nepal and Bhutan in innovative seed production and quality assurance technologies.

Despite challenges, the potato Industry in Nepal is undergoing significant developments. Among them: the opening of the first large scale French fry production facility in the country.

Every morning, Rupa Khadka of Patarasi Rural Municipality-6 in Jumla, Nepal heads towards Khalanga, the district headquarters, with a doko of potatoes on her back.

In Nepal, Mukunda Ranjit is recognized by the Kantipur Foundation as Kantipur Icon 2018 in the category Science and Technology for his work to make potatoes virus-free, pioneering this initiative in South Asia.

Potato farmers in Jumla are overjoyed. Unlike other years, vendors are coming to Jumla - a remote area in Nepal with very limited road access - to buy potatoes from farmers. This means they don't have to walk a full day to sell a single sack of potatoes - at a low price...

Potato production in Dolakha - a district in Nepal severely affected by the 2015 earthquakes - has dropped sharply this year due to a prolonged winter drought.The drop in output has occurred when farmers in the district had been preparing to brand their products.