According to the farmers, the cost of seed, fertilizer, medicines and manpower put together comes around 45 to 50 thousand rupee per acre.

West Bengal, the country’s second-largest potato producer, faces a problem every year when potato crop is harvested.

“Storage-space crunch is a chronic problem here. This season, it has touched a critical level,” said Jiban Dam, a potato farmer.

The state had a bumper crop for the second consecutive year in 2011. Production of potato in the state was 95 lakh tonne in 2011.

At a time when potato farmers in West Bengal are forced to sell their produce at a huge discount owing to a bumper potato production of 88 ...