Lahaul society to encourage potato farmers
Dipender Manta
Tribune News Service
Mandi, September 7
The Lahaul Potato Society (LPS) is focusing on providing farmers better prices for potato produce.
The LPS had failed to meet the expectations of potato growers. As a result, they had reduced the cultivation of potato in the Lahaul valley and adopted the cultivation of exotic vegetables to sustain their economy.
Now, office-bearers of the society are trying to encourage farmers to enhance the cultivation under potato. The society will make efforts to provide them good prices for potato. Lahaul’s potato is in demand in several states.
Sudershan Jaspa, chairperson of the LPS, said, “We are making efforts to connect more farmers with the society and encourage them for the cultivation of the potato produce. We have taken some decisions to benefit the farmers. We have set up three distribution centres for insecticide and manure at Udaipur, Lugarbhati and Karga in Lahaul-Spiti.”
“To improve the quality of seed potato, the LPS has decided to adopt contract farming. We urged the potato growers to send their produce in the LPS and we will make efforts to provide them good prices for their produce,” said Jaspa.
“The LPS has decided to provide better healthcare to valley residents and for the purpose, it will lease Chandermukhi hotel to a company which will use the property as a hospital,” he said.
