OPINION AND CONTEXT Participants choose PBSE course for more knowledge and personal contact and expertise from this certification authority. The course material and the lectures are in English. The four-day course is organised for everyone in the world who wants to expand their knowledge about the potato, and the lessons are given at the participating companies themselves. All eight of them have excellent facilities to carry out their part of the course. The teachers are experts who are affiliated to the participating companies. There is an exam at the end of the course, and participants who pass their exam receive a certificate. Making easy contact One of the participants of the recently-held PBSE course is potato consultant Andreas Rusch from Switzerland. In his homeland, he represents varieties that include Agria, Fontane and Lady Claire. The fact that many companies are involved in the course makes it attractive for him to attend, Rusch explains as the reason for his presence. ‘Moreover, many important potato companies have their headquarters in Emmeloord, and it is quite easy to get to know them’, the enthusiastic Swiss tells us. Constantinos Hadjiandreou from Cyprus fully agrees with Rusch’s arguments. ‘It is a unique course that is held in Netherlands – itself a very important potato country. Ster Holland is the company that told him about the course. He tells us that the curriculum gives an excellent picture of every aspect of potato cultivation. What particularly interests him is the inspection work of organisations such as the Agricultural Seed and Seed Potatoes Service (NAK). The emphasis is always on top quality planting stock and that is fascinating; we can learn a lot from it. As assistant general manager at Roha – a company that packages and sells potatoes – Hadjiandreou can make really good use of that knowledge. Roha exports this important food in various types of packaging to countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. The company packages the potatoes for its own customers as well as for third parties. In total, Roha packages 7,000 tons for its own customers and 15,000 tons for third parties. The same passion Phil Bakker is a second-generation Dutchman from Canada who is participating in the course. He is here together with Paul Sawatsky of parkland Potatoes from the province of Alberta. By taking part in the PBSE course, the two gentlemen want to refresh their basic knowledge. Bakker also intends to develop his expertise in the potato trade within the family business. One of its objectives is to export to South America and other countries. ‘It’s a good thing to come to the Netherlands to acquire more knowledge as this is an important export country.’ Meanwhile, he has found out that you can also meet many of those Dutch exporters on the PBSE course. His fellow-Canadian Sawatsky prefers to concentrate on the cultivation of consumption potatoes. He is active in his parents’ potato trading company and he also works as an agent for Agrico in North America. The consumption potatoes are sold from his own company parkland Fresh. The course offers him Alfadil Baraka, Mohammed El Amin Ibrahim and Mohammed Yo Usif think it important that the cultivation of potatoes in Sudan is brought to a higher level. Potato World 2013 • number 2 37 Pagina 36
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