For years, we’ve heard that India’s national vegetable is the pumpkin. But this is a myth. The pumpkin sits on the throne only on rumour. 

Look at the ground reality. Who really supports the Indian kitchen every single day? Who unites one side of the country with the other, from Bengal’s aloo posto to Punjab’s aloo paratha, from Banaras ke tikki to Mumbai’s vada pav? The answer is clear: the potato. 

Read in Hindi: ‘शैतान के सेब’ से ‘सुनहरे आलू’ तक का सफर…

Agra’s people survive almost 350 days a year with potato dishes. At Bhagat Halwai, the owners recall, “In Belanganj, some fifty years ago, people would carry away bowls, donaa full of katema aloo sabzi free every day. No life without aloo.” 

India is the world’s second-largest potato producer after China. Truly, “aloo paratha, samosa, dum aloo, aloo gobi, without these, the Indian thali is incomplete. The potato transcends caste, class, and region to become everyone’s companion. A true democratic food, the edible thread holding our culture together. Potato is not just a crop but the livelihood of thousands of farmers,” says homemaker Padmini Iyer. 

And yet, this humble potato, once called ‘the Devil’s Apple’ in Europe, still does not fetch farmers the respect and profit it deserves. In 2024–25, India harvested over 60 million tonnes of potatoes, with Agra contributing a major share. Even so, market hurdles and poor infrastructure block its full potential. Now, however, Agra has a reason to hope, with the launch of a new international research centre. 

The story of the potato is one of overcoming fear, echoing from Europe to Agra. The potato’s journey began in the Andes mountains of South America and reached Europe in 1570 with Spanish soldiers. Belonging to the nightshade family, which includes deadly plants like belladonna, the potato was long feared as poisonous. Its hidden underground tubers were seen as demonic, its small green tomato-like berries were indeed toxic, and in France, Germany, and Britain, it was nicknamed ‘the Devil’s Apple’. People linked it to witchcraft, and in some places, farmers were banned from growing it. The Catholic Church even claimed that since the Bible did not mention it, potatoes must be against God’s will. 

In France, particularly in Paris, potatoes’ respect was hard-earned. Until the 18th century, it was thought of only as cattle feed. Then came Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French pharmacist who had survived seven years of Prussian captivity (1756–1763) eating only potatoes. Back home, he promoted the potato as a famine-fighting crop. To encourage consumption, he stationed guards in fields so that people would not steal and try them. In 1772, he was officially honoured for his efforts. 

In 1785, everything changed. Parmentier organised a royal banquet in Paris for King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, serving an all-potato meal. The king remarked, “One day, France will thank you for giving bread to the poor.” Potatoes were even grown in Versailles gardens, and the queen wore potato blossoms in her hair. Soon Le Bon Jardinier, a celebrated gardening book, hailed the potato as the most important vegetable, ending the fear of the ‘Devil’s Apple’. By the time of the French Revolution in 1789, it had become the poor man’s staple. To this day, people place potatoes on Parmentier’s grave in a Paris cemetery. 

India received potatoes in the 17th century via Portuguese traders, but they spread widely only after Independence. Agra, with its fertile soil and cool winters, is ideal for rabi cultivation (October–March), become a leading producer. Around 71,000 hectares here are used for potato farming. Popular varieties grown include Kufri Bahar, Kufri Jyoti, Kufri Pukhraj, and Chipsona for chips. Agra’s potatoes are especially prized, uniform in size, firm in texture, and rich in starch. They are excellent for both cooking and chip-making. 

Now, the International Potato Centre of Peru is opening its South Asia Regional Centre in Agra. Approved in June this year with funding of ₹111.5 crore, this centre will focus on climate-resilient breeds, higher yields, and farmer training. It will improve quality, storage, and exports, turning Agra into a global potato research hub. 

Just as Parmentier once gave the potato dignity in Paris, this centre could do the same for Agra. For its farmers, this marks a new dawn.