Bhubaneswar, March 23: Potato cultivators of Odisha are selling their produce at low prices to private traders from outside the state while two ministers of the Naveen Patnaik government shift the blame on each other for the distress sale.

The issue today rocked the Odisha Assembly.

Rakhal Pal, 62, a potato grower of Mankidia village in Balasore, said: 'I am getting Rs 300 to Rs 350 per quintal. The production cost was around Rs 600 per quintal. What can I do? I have to sell it in the open market.'

'For a small farmer like me, where will I get money to keep the potato in the cold storage? I can't wait for months to make profit. I will be losing around Rs 2 lakh if the government agencies do not purchase potato from us,' said Pal, who had grown two hectares of potato.

The experience of cultivators in Ganjam district in south Odisha is no different. Kalu Sahu of Digapahandi block has produced 256 quintals of potato. But, he has kept the produce in his home and is waiting for private traders to purchase it.

'I am not interested to keep the potato at the cold storage in Berhampur. The production cost of potato per kilo is Rs 5. The transportation cost to the cold storage is Rs 2 per kilo and the retail price in the market is Rs 8 a kilo. I am ready to sell it with a thin profit margin,' he said.

Deputy director, horticulture, Omprkash Rath said: 'In the current season, potato was grown on 930 hectares in Balasore district. A hectare's yield is around 120 to 150 quintals and an investment of about Rs 80,000 has been made per hectare.'

Notwithstanding the fact that the state had been facing shortages of potato during off season and was dependant on neighbouring states, there seemed to be lack of co-ordination between the agriculture and co-operation departments. The state government had launched the Potato Mission on December 27 to make the state self-reliant in tuber production.

The state was to purchase potato from farmers to maintain a buffer stock of 10 lakh metric tonnes this year. Last year, the state had produced around two lakh metric tonnes as against the requirement of 11 lakh metric tonnes.

Following an uproar in the Assembly, Speaker Niranjan Pujari held an all-party meeting, and it was decided that three ministers - agriculture, co-operation and civil supplies - will have a separate meeting to ensure proper co-ordination among their departments.

Earlier, agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy had said his 'department has nothing to with procurement of potato. We ensured that potato cultivation is taken up in a big way'.

He claimed National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India Limited was to purchase potato from 22 districts and Odisha State Co-operative Marketing Federation Limited from seven districts.

These two organisations function under the co-operation department.

Co-operation minister Damodar Rout, on the other hand said: 'I am not aware of this decision. Did agriculture minister ever tell me that we should make arrangements for the procurement?'

The statements of two ministers came after both the BJD and Opposition members had raised the issue.

Even the Congress members trooped into the Well, demanding a direction to the government.

BJD member Ranendra Pratap Swain said distress sale of potato made a mockery of the government decision to launch the Potato Mission. Jaleswar MLA Ashwinee Patra said: 'The farmers are selling their produce to traders from outside at throw away prices as government agencies are not purchasing the tuber.'

The Speaker had to adjourn the House twice and call an all-party meeting to break the impasse.

Additional reporting by Sibdas Kundu in Balasore and Sunil Patnaik in Berhampur