The crazy market system

Wheat , maize and rice prices rocket and people go hungry but in the Indian state of West Bengal farmers have been dumping their potato crop on roads in protest against poor prices.

Farmers say they are selling at a loss because a bumper crop and lack of storage facilities has led to a dramatic fall in prices.They say a bumper potato crop has led to a huge surplus of more than 15,000 metric tones and there's not enough cold storage facilities in the state to preserve it for off-season sale when prices are better.

The price of potatoes has fallen across West Bengal this month by almost half - to around four to five rupees (12 US cents) a kilogram.The farmers say they get only half that much - the rest is pocketed by middlemen who the government has so far failed to control .With such low income, the farmers cannot even hope to recover their costs.

People go hungry in Capitalism when food is available .