Problems of Rabi Potato Production and Marketing in Pune District of Maharashtra

Rabi potato cultivation is getting increasingly popular among farmers. In this context, the present investigation was carried out to study the production and marketing of Rabi potato in Pune district. The major production problems faced by the cultivators in production were non-availability of quality tubers in time at low rates, high fertilizer cost and wage rates, non-availability of loan facility in time and in marketing major difficulties expressed by farmers were price variation, high commission rate, high transport cost etc. The non-availability of loans at cheap rate at the time of sowing was the major problem as reported by 54.17 per cent of the farmers. Good crop output cannot be expected without sowing good quality seed. About 73.00 per cent of farmers complained that despite their best efforts they are not able to procure good quality seed. High seed price was also a common complaint reported by 65 per cent of farmers. Another major problem was high wage rates, about 60 per cent of farmers complained about it. The transportation was a major bottle neck in efficient marketing of potatoes. About 70 per cent farmers complained that transportation charges were high. The price variation emerged as an important problems as 66.37 per cent farmers complained about it. About 63.00 per cent farmers faced the problems of high commission charges.