Context:
The Central Government has approved the establishment of the South Asia Regional Centre of the Peru-based International Potato Center (CIP) in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh, India.
More on News:
- It will support farmers in key potato-growing states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, while serving the broader South Asian region.
- The primary goal of this investment is to enhance food and nutrition security, boost farmers’ incomes, and generate employment by improving the productivity of potato and sweet potato.
- The project is estimated to cost ₹171 crore, with India contributing ₹111 crore and the remaining ₹60 crore funded by the International Potato Center (CIP).
- The Uttar Pradesh government has allocated 10 hectares of land for the proposed centre.
- India’s potato sector holds immense potential to generate employment across various stages such as production, processing, packaging, transportation, marketing, and the overall value chain.
- The CIP-South Asia Regional Centre (CSARC) aims to tap into this potential and drive growth in the sector.
- CSARC will develop high-yielding, nutrient-rich, and climate-resilient varieties of potato and sweet potato.
- It will play a crucial role in accelerating the sustainable development of these crops not just in India, but across the South Asian region through world-class science and innovation.
- China ranks first, with a potato production of 78.24 million tonnes in 2020.
- China established its regional CIP centre called the China Center for Asia Pacific (CCCAP) in Yanqing, Beijing in 2017 serves the entire East Asia and Pacific region.
- Together, India and China account for over one-third of the global potato production, which stood at 359.07 million tonnes.
- India is the world’s second-largest producerand consumer of potatoes, with a production of 51.30 million tonnes in 2020.
- Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal led potato production in 2020-21 with 15 million tonnes each, followed by Bihar with 9 million tonnes.
- Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab are also notable potato-producing states.
- Two different centres of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) focus on tuber crops:
- ICAR-CPRI (Central Potato Research Institute) based in Shimla works on potatoes.
- ICAR-CTCRI (Central Tuber Crops Research Institute) based in Thiruvananthapuram specializes in sweet potatoes.
- The CIP-South Asia Regional Centre (CSARC) will be the second major international agricultural research institution to operate in India.
- The Agriculture Ministry supported the establishment of a regional centre of the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 2017.
- The IRRI-South Asia Regional Centre (SARC) was established in Varanasi.
