Potato News from Africa

A new experience for both Kiremko and Morrocan potato processor Fun Fries; the French fry line that was installed last summer was started up entirely remotely using augmented reality.

Since mid-June, potato prices have been on average 46% higher than in the same period last year. In four months, the average market price of a 10kg
bag has rocketed from below R35 to R83.

The World Potato Congress is pleased to be beginning its Fall webinar series on November 12, 2020, with Professor Jacquie van der Waals from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

The Wageningen Research Foundation (WR), being subsidised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the context of the Policy Support 'Sustainable agricultural development in a food system approach' published a study on the potato value chain in Morocco.

A first pilot using True Potato Seed (TPS) in Angonia District, Tete province in Mozambique, conducted by Solidaridad and Solynta shows great potential to drastically improve and innovate potato production in Mozambique.

The government of Zimbabwe, in conjunction with Kutsaga Research Station has embarked on a seed potato multiplication programme from mini-tuber to commercial seed potato.

The partnership targets to introduce new technologies and train smallholder farmers on how to improve potato yields through the use of quality seeds, resilient varieties, disease management and post-harvest management.

Demand for potatoes in eastern Africa has been growing steadily. This growth is driven in part by rising demand from the fast food industry and for processing into high value products such as crisps, chips and starch. Despite an increase of 60% in the area of cultivated land, production has been declining in Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda.

Egypt has exported a total of 674,480 tons of potatoes to world market, especially the European Union countries, since April 2020, according to Head of Central Administration of Plant Quarantine at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Ahmed al-Attar.

A UK manufacturer of vegetable harvesting and handling machinery has supplied its first to order to South Africa thanks to a recommendation from a Canadian company. Scotts Precision Manufacturing has sent one of its Evolution separators to Bestbier South Africa after Allan Equipment in Canada recommended the unique machine.

Addressing seed shortages for potato is a perennial challenge in many potato-producing countries. Potato seed systems rely on several successive generations of bulking seed tubers to produce commercial seed.

TOMRA has opened new regional headquarters in Johannesburg to strengthen its commitment to customers in South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.

Reducing wastage in the food chain is high on the Moroccan government's agenda. Food wastage is also an important theme at the upcoming SIAM - Salon International de l’Agriculture in Meknès - agricultural trade show.

In Kenya, potatoes are a key staple food, second only to maize. Yet its potato value chain has been underdeveloped for decades also. This has been acknowledged by the Kenyan government.

For the past year, PepsiCo Egypt has been working to empower Egyptian farmers by supporting them through training programs aimed at providing them with stronger technical know-how and other skills to improve efficiency and productivity.

PepsiCo joins Veris as a major shareholder in Senselet Food Processing Plc in Ethiopia. Senselet, founded in 2015, today has a leading market position in Ethiopia with its SUN Chips brand that is being produced from locally sourced potatoes.

For as long as Monique Vlok can remember, her father, Frans, produced vegetables on rented land near Citrusdal. When the company he worked for was bought out, he took his package and in 2003 cashed in all his investments to buy the farm Valskuil.

The Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) has started testing True Potato Seeds, which are produced by Solynta, a Dutch firm that develops hybrid potatoes. True Potato Seeds are collected from the berries or fruits of the potato plant.