TRADE AND MARKETING Growers in the Middle East are looking ahead The forgotten land In the heart of the Middle East lies Jordan. We are shown around here by Rami Hassasneh, the young enthusiastic trade agent of Stet Holland. According to Stet Holland, Jordan is a country that is forgotten by the Netherlands and where many French trading companies are currently active. The Netherlands is now taking part again and, since last year, is in control of one third of the seed potato market. Stet Holland is the most important player in that market. cold this year, but hasn’t proved harmful; tuber initiation was very good. A large group of farm labourers are fanatically lifting potatoes from pure sandy soil. It is incredible to see how many potatoes grow in a ridge. Yet it is also evident that, after the harvest, quite a few tubers are left in the field. And this is precisely what could mean more profit, is the general opinion of the Stet Holland growers group. The farm hands work for the Al Waffa farm in Meolaware, which is situated in southern Jordan. It takes more than a four hour drive from the airport of Amman to Meolaware. In total, Al Waffa cultivates 1,400 hectares of arable crops among which are cereals and 500 hectares of potatoes. The farm packages the potatoes in 6.5 kg boxes and delivers them themselves to the wholesalers via local markets. The labourers are paid 6 euros per 100 boxes. When they work well, they can do 300 boxes a day per person, which makes their daily earnings 18 euros. Moreover, their transport from and to the farm is arranged for them. The yield of the consumption potatoes in this region is approx. 45 H assasneh told us that the growing season was relatively to 50 tons per hectare. At the traditional market in Amman, we saw Al Waffa potatoes for sale for 0.5 dinars, or 50 eurocents per kilogram. Working on water supply The Al Waffa farm is located down south, where sand and stones determine the landscape. It is called Wadi Rum. This Wadi Rum annually attracts thousands of visitors who come to admire the unparalleled ruggedness of the landscape. In this region, water is essential to grow potatoes. Since water is a hot issue here – where is this not the case in the world – the government wants to improve the water supply for the capital Amman and the surrounding region. For this purpose, they are currently working hard on the construction of a water supply system to Amman from the south, where the Al Waffa farm is situated. The fact is that the water pumped up in the south is of exceptionally good quality. This construction work may mean that farms such as Al Waffa will have to leave the region because they themselves will experience a shortage of water. Potato World 2011 • number 4 9 Pagina 8
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