Pepsico to procure 30,000 tonne potato from West Bengal farmers

Kolkata,   Pepsico India Holdings Pvt Ltd plans to procure at least 30,000 tonne of potato from West Bengal by 2010 for Fritolay, the food division of the company. At present, the company procures 12,000 tonne potato from the state.

“Currently, our company caters to 1800 farmers through contract farming initiative in Bengal,” said Nishchint Bhatia, executive vice-president of the Fritolay division. Spanning across districts like Birbhum, Bardhaman, Bankura, Midnapore, Hooghly and Howrah, this farming procedure covers 1600 acres, harvesting specially the Atlanta variety of potato.

"This variety is appropriate for making the Fritolay products,” Bhatia told reporters.

At present, contract farming has got 13,000 farmers all over India into its fold. Among other states, the most prominent are West Bengal, Karnataka and Maharashtra. "In the current fiscal, we harvested 57,000 tonne of potatoes all over India," Bhatia told reporters.

The company is also conducting trials to grow oats, a high-fibre nutrient in Rajasthan, Punjab and Karnataka to make quaker oats, a breakfast product which is imported from Australia at present.