Author(s): Rashmee Yadav, Amisha Kumari and Neelma Kunwar

Abstract:
Agricultural technologies that can produce nutritious and marketable food in agro-ecologies and socio-economic contexts are urgently needed. Potato offers strategic opportunities to improve nutrition and rural incomes in several countries and regions affected by micronutrient deficiency. It is already an important component of the cropping systems in India because of its robustness to produce under difficult conditions. It will become more important in the face of a changing climate. In many settings, it is also considered a “women’s crop” reflecting the relatively strong control women have in decision making in production and marketing. While this often provides particular opportunities to use potato as an entry point to strengthen nutrition and economic outcomes for women and their children, cultural and gender-defined roles need to be addressed to improve outcomes at household and community levels. Potato is among the fastest expanding crops in India, measured by area under cultivation. Reasons for this development include the resilience of the crop that continues to yield reliably high harvests under variable climatic conditions, provides better food and income opportunities with decreasing landholding sizes than most other staples in rural areas and the fast increasing demand from urban centres. The private sector’s continued investment in seed potato production is increasing due to high demand for seed and opportunities along the seed value chain. But this involvement is still minimal and seed systems, if they are to be sustainable, need the private sector to become more involved.