RECENT CHALLENGES AND FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY OF POTATO CULTIVATION IN HUGLI DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL: A GEOGRAPHICAL APPRAISAL USING SWOT-AHP ANALYSIS

Abstract

The prime goal of the present study is to ascertain suitable strategies regarding the sustainable and effective
growth of potato cultivation in Hugli district of West Bengal by examining the Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities
(O) and Threats (T) of the system through a combination of SWOT analysis and Analytical Hierarchy Process. The result
reveals that constant year round demand of potato (S5, 0.25) and increasing expenditure costs (W3, 0.25) are the most
prioritized internal strength and weakness respectively. On the contrary, large scale employment generation (O6, 0.29) for the
locals as well as the migrant laborers is the most prioritized external opportunity, whereas, oscillating nature of economic
profitability (T2, 0.27) is the most prioritized external threat of potato cultivation in the area. The overall priority scores
of SWOT analysis exhibits that steady demand of potato throughout the year (S5) possesses the most significant (9.7%)
aspect among all the internal and external factors. In conclusion, appropriate strategies have been formulated by linking
the most prioritized ‘strength-opportunity’ and ‘weakness-threat’ factors for future possibilities of the potato cultivation in
Hugli district of West Bengal.