Nestled amidst the verdant alpine forests of north Kashmir in India lies Bosian, a gem of fertile farmland that serves as the seed house for high-quality and disease-free potato tubers in the region. Each year, farmers in the Kashmir Valley eagerly await the arrival of these premium seed tubers from Bosian to kickstart their potato cultivation.
Spanning a sprawling 60 hectares (1,200 kanals) of rich soil and perched at an elevation of 2,383 meters above Baramulla town in the J&K state of India, the Bosian potato farm stands as the largest high-altitude seed multiplication farm in the Kashmir Valley. With approximately 1,700 hectares dedicated to potato cultivation across small holdings in the valley, producing around 2.72 lakh quintals of edible potatoes annually, the demand for quality seed stands at 41,000 quintals, a need efficiently met by farms like the one at Bosian.
In the year 2023-24, the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India reported 1.65 Lac quintals potato production from the state farmers. This year, authorities have set their sights at higher targets. Bosian Seed Development Farm, has a great reputation for excellence in seed production, emphasizing the commitment to elevate production levels.
May marks the commencement of the sowing season at Bosian, employing a dedicated workforce of about 60-70 individuals year-round. Modern agricultural practices are embraced, with tractors preparing the fields and automatic potato planters streamlining the sowing process.
The Potato Development Scheme (PDS) underscores the pivotal role of quality seed in potato cultivation, with seed costs constituting a significant portion of total cultivation expenses. Through this scheme, the Department of Agriculture ensures the distribution of high-quality seed tubers to empower the farming community.
With its fertile black soil identified as ideal for potato farming back in the 1970s, Bosian Seed Development Farmn harbors untapped potential for expanded production. Possessing around 400 kanals of available land, Bosian Seed Development Farmn harbors the farm envisions scaling up cultivation with the requisite resources.
As the harvesting season commences around October, the finest tubers are meticulously sorted, packed, and dispatched to the Agriculture Department’s storage facilities in Lal Mandi, Srinagar, ready for dissemination to farmers by December. Bosian stands as a beacon of agricultural innovation and productivity, driving the potato cultivation landscape in the picturesque Kashmir Valley.
