Bhubaneswar, Dec. 27: The state government today launched a Potato Mission for the coming financial year in order to avoid tuber shortage in future.

'The proposed mission will initiate several measures to make the state self-reliant in potato production,' said chief minister Naveen Patnaik after chairing a meeting to discuss long-term strategies to enhance potato production in the state.

The state has been facing a shortfall in potato, because its domestic production does not meet the demand.

At present, the state produces two lakh metric tonnes as against the requirement of 11 lakh metric tonnes.Agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy had admitted that the state depended on the supply of potato from other states, mostly from Bengal.

The state faced a severe potato shortage when Bengal government restricted its supply to Odisha and other states this year and previous year. At that time, potato was selling at Rs 60 per kg in retail market.

Keeping this in view, the government decided to keep a buffer stock of 30,000 tonnes of tuber in 2015 to meet the emergency.

The state government had set up an official committee, headed by the agriculture secretary in August, 2014, to formulate a long-term action plan on potato cultivation, conservation and distribution. The chief minister approved the action plan today.

According to the action plan, the state government set a target to increase potato production from the existing level of two lakh metric tonnes to 11.25 lakh metric tonnes by 2017-18.

Keeping this target in mind, the potato crop area will be enhanced from 15,000 hectares to 60,000 hectares by 2017-18.

To facilitate increase in the potato production, it was decided to cultivate potato seeds in 7,500 hectares, so that the domestic seeds production could reach 1.20 lakh metric tonnes.

The meeting was informed that potato producers were being encouraged to take up cultivation in clusters.

At present, the farmers are taking up cultivation in 5,000 hectares in each cluster, which will be raised to 20, 000 hectares.

In order to give a boost further, the government decided to extent insurance coverage to the potato crops in all 314 blocks across the state.

Realising that lack of adequate cold storages contributes to potato shortage, the state government decided to set up more such facilities. At present, there are 24 cold storages functional in the state. It was decided to set up 112 more cold storages by 2017-18.

The chief minister announced that capital subsidy would be given to those who would set up cold storages.

Besides, relief in the electricity duty will be given to the cold storages established before March 31, 2018, official sources said.