Purple potato offers more nutrients, but questions remain

The purple potato: what happened?

The potato is on almost every Indian plate, rich or poor. If an everyday food like this can carry more nutrients, it could quietly help millions. That is the promise, and also the test, of Kufri Jamunia.

• Scientists at the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) have developed a purple potato called Kufri Jamunia.
• It was made in 2015 by crossing two potato lines, MS/8-1148 and CP4242. It was cleared in mid-2024 and notified in November 2024.
• 100 g has about 42.75 mg of vitamin C, against 23.15 mg in a regular potato, and about 42.05 mg of anthocyanins.
• In a taste test, 95% of 64 people rated it ‘good to excellent’. It has a mealy (soft, floury) texture.
• Experts say cost, yield, disease resistance and taste will decide whether it really reaches poor families.

What are hidden hunger and biofortification?

Hidden hunger means a lack of micronutrients such as iron, zinc, vitamin A and vitamin C, even when a person gets enough calories. It causes anaemia, weak immunity and poor growth in children.

Biofortification means breeding crops so that the nutrients are inside the plant itself. Fortification, by contrast, adds nutrients during processing, like iron added to fortified rice or iodine added to salt.

Anthocyanins are natural pigments that give purple, red and blue colours to foods like jamun and black rice. They act as antioxidants, which protect cells from damage.

The CPRI, in Shimla, works under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Its varieties carry the name ‘Kufri’, after a place near Shimla.

How does Kufri Jamunia compare?

Which laws and Articles apply?

• Article 47: the State shall raise the level of nutrition and improve public health (a Directive Principle).
• National Food Security Act, 2013: legal right to subsidised grain for about two-thirds of the population.
• Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001: protects new plant varieties and farmers’ rights.
• Seeds Act, 1966: new varieties are notified before their seeds are sold.

Why does the purple potato matter?

What are the problems with the purple potato?

• Yield may be lower than popular varieties, so farmers may not grow it.
• Late blight and other diseases can hit new varieties hard.
• Some nutrients may be lost in boiling or frying.
• Buyers may not trust or like a purple potato at first.

What should be done next on the purple potato?

• Test yield and disease resistance in many States before wide release.
• Give farmers good seed and fair prices for biofortified crops.
• Use such crops in school meals and nutrition schemes.
• Teach people why colour can mean more nutrients.

What can Prelims ask on the purple potato?

Prelims probability: Expect a question on biofortification: Kufri Jamunia is a purple potato from the Central Potato Research Institute, rich in anthocyanins and vitamin C.

• Kufri Jamunia: purple potato from the Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla (under ICAR).
• Rich in anthocyanins (antioxidant pigments) and vitamin C.
• Biofortification adds nutrients by breeding; fortification adds them during processing.
• Hidden hunger: lack of micronutrients despite enough calories.
• Late blight of potato is caused by Phytophthora infestans.

How to write about the purple potato in Mains

Practice question (15 marks, 250 words): Biofortification can be a low-cost way to fight hidden hunger in India. Discuss with suitable examples, and mention the challenges.

• Intro: hidden hunger; meaning of biofortification.
• Example: Kufri Jamunia’s vitamin C and anthocyanins; other biofortified crops.
• Benefits: reaches the poor through everyday food.
• Challenges: yield, disease, cooking losses, acceptance.
• Conclusion: link science with farmers, markets and welfare schemes.