Irish potato |
According to the
Project Manager, Frank Wijnands, the construction work of the 8.8bn/-
(4.0 million US dollars) project is co-financed by the Dutch Ministry of
Economic Affairs and a group of nine companies that are active in the
potato industry.
The Irish potato
centre is expected to support every phase of the potato value chain from
production and storage to processing to marketing. Mr Wijnands, of
Wageningen University & Research, said some of the companies are
seed-potato growers whilst others supply cool stores or crop protection.
Jan-Willem Sepers
of Europlant, one of the co-investors in the centre, praised Tanzania as
a politically stable country, saying some of the areas are very
suitable for potatoes.
Tanzanian farmers
often harvest between 7.0 and 8.0 tonnes per hectare, well be low the 30
tonnes that could be reached with high-quality seed-potatoes and
improved farming techniques.
The Ministry of
Agriculture Permanent Secretary, Mr Mathew Mtigumwe, said the centre
will have great impact on research and training. "With this great
initiative, the potato business can finally take off," Mr Mtigumwe said.
The Netherlands is
presumed to be the world leader in the potato sector, with Dutch seed
potatoes accounting for 60 per cent of worldwide potato production.
While over 500 different varieties of potato are grown in The
Netherlands, in Tanzania only four varieties are used.
The centre
agreement was signed in The Hague last month by representatives of the
Tanzanian and Dutch governments. Tanzania was represented by Ambassador
Irene Kasyanju, the Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary, Mr
Mathew Mtigumwe and the SAGCOT Chief Executive Officer, Mr GeofExecutive
Officer, Mr GeofExecutive Officer, Mr Geof frey Kirenga.
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