TRADE AND MARKETING Export plus knowledge is trade The first course of the Potato Business School Emmeloord (PBSE) was held in the last week of September. Harry Goos, initiator and director at Tolsma, was proud that his wish of many years had finally come true. Particularly when abroad, he had discovered a growing hunger for expert knowledge about the potato. In his view, PBSE is meeting a growing need because “export plus knowledge is trade”. F or years, initiator Harry Goos had been playing with the idea of starting a school. This stemmed mainly from his experience in his own field of activity. Even today, there are still too many losses during product storage, including potatoes. To solve this, everyone in the chain involved in the storage process needs more knowledge. Not only in the Netherlands, but also outside its borders, he has found a growing need for expert knowledge. The Netherlands already has a course on potato storage, which Goos organises in collaboration with the Dutch Potato Organisation (NAO). To be able to organise courses for interested parties abroad as well, Goos first approached existing educational institutions for support. He once asked the CAH Dronten University of Applied Sciences (Agrarische Hogeschool Dronten) to organise such a course but it never happened, which was rather disappointing. He also contacted Wageningen University. ‘I spoke with Aalt Dijkhuizen. I showed him a plan to organise a course on potato storage under the auspices of the Wageningen Business School. After I’d called him twice and he’d promised to call me back about the idea, the contact ended.’ Potato companies in Emmeloord approached As the consultations with the educational institutions had failed, Goos started to look for possibilities closer to home. He wasn’t keen to carry out the plan all by himself. ‘To provide the initiative with a wide support base and to raise funds, ‘The course is intended for everyone in the world who wants to obtain the knowledge available among Dutch companies about the potato’, Goos explains. you need firm commitment’, according to Goos. ‘Tolsma is not the only company in Emmeloord that operates in the potato sector. In fact, there’s nowhere else in the Netherlands with so many potato companies.’ And so, I took the plunge and approached potato companies in the town to sound out their interest in taking part in what is now the Potato Business School Emmeloord (PBSE). After a few telephone and consultation rounds, eight companies in Emmeloord agreed to Goos’plan. ‘They are Agrico, TPC, Den Hartigh, Stet Holland, Greve, KWS Potato, Profyto and Tolsma. The Dutch General Inspection Service for Agricultural Seed and Seed Potatoes (NAK) in Emmeloord is also involved in the school. If necessary, the PBSE hires the required knowledge and expertise from this certification authority.’ Subsidy from the province However, at this point, the Potato Business school was not yet up and running. Money was needed to start the school, for which Goos talked to the Province of Flevoland. ‘If so many companies have a shared interest in the jobs and income of the population, you might expect a contribution to stimulate the extra economic activity. After all’, says 10 Potato World 2012 • number 1 Pagina 9
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