Growth and instability of potato cultivation in Himachal Pradesh

The paper analyses the growth and instability in terms of area, production and productivity of potato in Himachal Pradesh. The growth was examined by Compound growth rate and Simple growth rate. The study relates to 1997-98 and 2017-18 time periods. The area under potato registered positive growth rate throughout the period in Himachal Pradesh. Potato is a major crop cultivated in Himachal Pradesh. The share of potato area in Himachal Pradesh to other crop area increased from 69.98 to 86.30 per cent in 2017-18. With the introduction of short duration varieties, there was an increase in productivity. Trend and instability analysis in the area, production and productivity of tomato for a period of 20 years were carried out. The estimated trends in the area, production, and productivity of potato, using semi log function revealed that there was a significant increase in an area with a compound annual growth rate of 1.05 per cent, the significant increase in production by 2.60 per cent and a significant increase in productivity by 1.54 per cent. Cuddy-Della Valle index provides the best estimates and instability was found to be more in productivity (18.87 per cent).