The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday (March 23, 2026) alleged that the Potato farming in Uttar Pradesh has entered a structural crisis, with the production costs far exceeding current mandi prices, adding without correcting storage economics and price risk‑sharing, potato farming in western U.P. will remain structurally unviable turning a productive cash crop into a recurring rural distress trigger.

“Landed cost of production in western U.P. (Kannauj belt) has risen to over ₹1,000 per quintal (₹500 per 50 kg), market prices are clearing at around ₹800 per quintal, leaving farmers with a gross loss of around ₹200 per quintal before storage and marketing expenses. Adding prevailing cold‑storage charges (₹340‑380/qt) pushes total delivered cost to ₹1,340‑1, 380/qt, far above realizable prices. Urea’s MRP is capped at ₹242 per 45 kg bag via subsidy, but ground reports indicate near‑zero availability at this rate, forcing purchases at higher informal prices. DAP (a key non‑urea fertiliser) has seen its MRP rise from ₹1,200 to ₹1,350 per bag, and intensified NPK use raises per‑acre outlay,” said Ram Pratap Singh, spokesperson, Samajwadi Party (SP), adding similar loss narratives echo across the Firozabad‑Agra belt, where high input intensity and reliance on hired storage magnify vulnerabilities.

Mr. Singh said, farmer unions protesting “arbitrary” cold‑storage rates and calling for timely procurement and input‑subsidy reforms.

Nasser Salim, the SP spokesperson said, “Cost inflation, storage rent meaning Input cost inflation (seed, labour, fertiliser, energy) combined with sharp, weakly regulated cold‑storage charges has turned storage from a stabilizer into a loss multiplier. The policy asymmetry as unlike cereals, potatoes lack an MSP or price‑deficiency buffer, forcing farmers to absorb price, storage, and input risks simultaneously. The bottom line is that without correcting storage economics and price risk‑sharing, potato farming in western U.P. will remain structurally unviable, turning a productive cash crop into a recurring rural‑distress trigger.”