Price crash drives Bengal potato farmers into distress

Three years of mounting losses in potato farming have pushed the family of Minakshi Ghose, a farmer from Kalna in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district, into distress.

She said her father-in-law, 78-year-old Sailen Ghosh, died by suicide about two weeks ago, allegedly after he failed to sell his potato crop, leaving the family in debt of ₹20 lakh. “We have had to sell potato sacks (50 kg each) for ₹110 when the production cost is at least ₹350. I cultivated over 16 bighas of potatoes. No one has stood by us,” she said. Potatoes lie scattered in the courtyard of their house, with no buyers in sight.  

“I have already lost everything. What is the point of speaking about it? You cannot bring back my father,” said Mr. Ghose’s son, who did not want to be named. Struggling to cope with both personal loss and mounting debt, he sees no way out to sustain his household.

Death of three farmers between February and March has been linked to falling potato prices in the State, turning the incidents into a major issue ahead of the State Assembly election.

High yield, price crash

This year, the districts of Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly and Paschim Medinipur in the southern part of the State saw a bumper potato crop. The high yield led to wholesale prices crashing rapidly, leaving many farmers across the region in distress.

Farmers across the region are incurring losses due to falling prices. Rafikul Islam, a potato farmer and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation worker from Kalna, said he has suffered a ₹40,000 loss. Small farmers cannot afford cold storage. In distress, they are forced to sell at one-third of their production cost.

Many of Mr. Islam’s fellow farmers have incurred losses running into several lakhs, though the bumper production had given them hope for a better year ahead.

Across Kalna, fields are strewn with potatoes as farmers abandon their produce with no scope to sell or store. Potato sacks could be seen stacked across the villages as farmers struggle to arrange money to keep them in cold storage. 

To provide some relief to distressed farmers, the State government issued a notification on March 13, reserving 30% of the State’s cold storage space for small potato farmers.

During her election rallies in Paschim Medinipur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that if re-elected, her government would compensate potato farmers who have suffered losses. “Your crop is insured, do not worry. We will buy as much potato from farmers as we can and put them in cold storage,” she said at a rally last week.

However, Kalna Trinamool Congress MLA Deboprasad Bag, also the party’s candidate for the upcoming elections, denied that Sailen Ghosh died by suicide out of distress.

Biggest cash crop

Farmers in West Bengal typically have small landholdings, and potato is one of the State’s biggest cash crops. According to reports by State Departments of Horticulture & Agriculture, West Bengal is the second-highest potato producer in the country after Uttar Pradesh.

“Last year, production was about 110 lakh tonnes. This year, it is expected to cross 130 lakh tonnes,” Dilip Pratihar, secretary, Pragatishil Alu Byabsayee Samiti, said.

Series of deaths

As potato cultivation surged in south Bengal, farmers across Hooghly, Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Medinipur have been severely affected.

Rakhal Ari, 28, from Chandrakona in Paschim Medinipur, allegedly died by suicide on March 11 after incurring losses of over ₹1 lakh.

Mr. Ari’s death drew attention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Just three days back, one of our farmers died by suicide in Chandrakona. They (TMC) are playing with the lives of farmers,” Mr. Modi said at a public rally in Kolkata’s Brigade Ground on March 14.

The Opposition has alleged multiple farmer deaths out of distress in the State this year, a claim denied by the ruling party.

With weeks left for the polls, BJP State president Samik Bhattacharya claimed that at least five farmers have died by suicide in the State between February and March, three of them potato farmers from the region.

“These are not isolated incidents. Throughout the State, farmers are dying by suicide. Potato farmers are not getting the proper price for their produce. The reason is the faulty policies of the TMC government, which is trying to control the market by not allowing potatoes to go to other States,” Mr. Bhattacharya said.

Since the occupation of those who died is not recorded by the State in the National Crime Records Bureau, the deaths cannot be directly linked to agriculture.

This article contains references to suicide and mental health issues. Those in distress may contact Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health suicide prevention helpline: 011-40769002.

Published – April 04, 2026 07:18 pm IST