India’s government has imposed a new restriction on the country’s most popular food items, including potatoes, which is forcing the countrys farmers to turn to self-reliance to feed themselves.
India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food has said it will ban potato cultivation in the next two years.
The restrictions come after a year-long ban on the sale of potatoes, the country s most-popular food item.
In the past, India has banned all vegetable and meat products and all dairy products, with the aim of raising public health and reducing the number of cases of diphtheria and tetanus.
Potatoes are considered one of India s most important food exports, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the country ‘s total agricultural output, which has been growing at around 12% a year.
Indian authorities banned the sale and sale of the crop after it was discovered that the bacterium diphteria toxin-producing strains, known as DtTs, had been imported into the country from China and Vietnam.
Since then, farmers have been growing potatoes in their gardens, sometimes under extreme circumstances, which in turn have contributed to a spike in diphts cases in the country.
India has been under a severe dipht test ban since January 2018, and farmers were forced to import fresh produce from other countries, including China and Nepal, to keep up with the demand.
Potato farmers say that they can now import their own crops and harvest them at home, but it is not always possible to do so.
The shortage of food also has a negative impact on the health of the population.