As a major player in India’s potato sector, Bihar contributes a significant 17% of the national potato production, cultivating potatoes on 330,000 hectares with a yield of 27,654 kg per hectare, placing it behind only Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. However, the landscape for potato farmers in Bihar, especially the small and marginal farmers who constitute 97% of landholders with typically less than 2 hectares, is fraught with challenges. These fragmented holdings create less-than-ideal conditions for productive farming.
In Bihar’s primary potato-producing belt, farmers face a multitude of obstacles that make cultivating the ‘golden tuber’ less profitable than it could be. These include difficulties in accessing good quality potato seeds, the high cost of essential inputs like pesticides and fertilisers, the persistent threat of crop pests and diseases specific to potatoes, poor market prices for their harvest, and inadequate knowledge of effective agronomic practices. Collectively, these issues lead to lower net returns, threatening the sustainability of potato farming as a livelihood. For many small farmers, like Rita Devi, farming simply doesn’t offer a lucrative future or an aspirational lifestyle.
But a wave of optimism is spreading among these potato farmers thanks to the Small Farmers Large Fields (SFLF) project. This initiative, driven by Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA) in partnership with the International Potato Center (CIP) and supported by the NGO Jeevika, directly addresses these long-standing issues. The fundamental strength of the SFLF model lies in the principle of collective action. Under this model, potato farmers group together, dramatically increasing their collective bargaining power. This aggregation allows groups of farmers to jointly procure crucial inputs, such as quality potato seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides, directly from providers, securing substantial cost savings through bulk purchases. It also empowers them to refine their production methods, utilise superior seed varieties, and ultimately secure a better price for their potato harvest based on improved quality and larger volume.
The TAFSSA team kick-started the project by delivering training sessions focused on imparting knowledge about improved farming practices, tailored specifically for potato cultivation. These sessions were interactive, blending presentations with discussions and utilising visual aids. Critical topics covered included field and seed preparation for potatoes, identifying and selecting high-yielding and disease-resistant potato varieties, optimising irrigation techniques crucial for the potato crop, precise application of fertilisers, managing potato pests and diseases preventatively and reactively, and techniques for post-harvest handling and storage of potatoes. Rajiv Ranjan, TAFSSA’s field coordinator, highlighted a significant initial challenge: farmers had inadequate knowledge about different potato seed varieties and their performance.
A key resource developed by the International Potato Center (CIP) to bolster these efforts is a comprehensive Package of Practice (PoP). This guide includes illustrations of essential field operations, common potato pests, and diseases. It provides clear, concise instructions on applying inputs, recommended dosages for fertilisers and pesticides, and the optimal timing for these applications throughout the potato crop cycle. Translated into Hindi and distributed as a leaflet, the PoP serves as a quick reference tool, guiding farmers through various aspects of potato and seed production, including efficient pest and disease identification and management.
Rita Devi, a 47-year-old farmer, joined the SFLF pilot program during the rabi season of 2023–24, motivated by the prospect of reducing her potato farming costs and increasing her crop yield. She attended the training sessions in December 2022, eager to learn how this new knowledge could benefit her. She specifically recalls receiving valuable information on conserving water, optimising fertiliser dosage, and controlling pests, which led to more controlled input use and, critically, financial savings in her potato cultivation. Rita Devi noted that knowing the correct amount of fertiliser dosage for her potato crop resulted in tangible savings, which encouraged her to continue.
Strengthening the bargaining power of potato farmers by improving supply chain integration was a central aim of the SFLF initiative. This involved assisting farmers in collectively sourcing quality inputs from reliable and affordable providers. For example, high-quality potato seeds were procured directly from Punjab. This offered a superior alternative to expensive, often substandard, local seed options available to farmers previously. By negotiating prices and ensuring proper storage, potato farmers in Nalanda gained reliable access to these essential resources. Similar collective arrangements were established for fertilisers and pesticides used in potato farming.
Rita Devi is now a strong advocate for the initiative, highlighting its financial and operational advantages for potato cultivation. She is so convinced of the benefits of collective action, especially regarding seeds, that she asserts, “Even if no one else makes the provision, we will form a farmer group to procure seeds from Punjab,” underscoring the project’s effectiveness in empowering farmers. Her experience demonstrates how collective action and improved supply chain connections can optimise farming practices, particularly for smallholder potato growers. Beyond potatoes, Rita Devi is also testing crop diversification; after harvesting her potato crop, she planted maize and moong beans to further increase her farm income.
Crucially, most farmers participating in the SFLF program have approximately doubled their incomes and net returns from potato farming compared to non-SFLF farmers, even after accounting for production costs. Rita Devi hopes that as the positive impact on yields and market values for potatoes becomes more widely known, more farmers will adopt the SFLF model. Subsequent seasons of the pilot are expected to further refine the model, addressing any remaining challenges faced by potato farmers.
