RE SEARCH Mozambique can and must keep potato growing inside its own country For most consumers the potato is an expensive food, really more a luxury vegetable. Research Station produces 40,000 mini tubers annually for the maintenance and marketing of seven clones, which come from the International Potato Center (CIP) in Peru. Montesco is a new company that was established in 2013 by a white farmer, who had fled Zimbabwe. He is also the HZPC agent for Mozambique and multiplies the Mondial and Sifra varieties under licence. Montesco also multiplies the seven CIP clones. In a few years’ time, the company wants to sell 1,000 tons of seed and 1,500 tons of consumption potatoes annually. We’re talking about the harvest of oversized seed that is not going to be sold. Montesco’s aim is to train small growers, who can’t afFord large quantities of seed and, if possible, have them work as agents. This is a step-by-step process. The start is the simple form of positive and negative selection. For example, positive selection is to put sticks next to the best plants and subsequently use what they produce for seed. Negative selection is to remove diseased plants. The introduction of a wider range of varieties can then improve the cultivation. Crisps and French-fry varieties in particular are welcome. This is ultimately intended to promote commercial in-vitro and mini tuber production. Manual work everywhere Small farmers, usually with less than a hectare, still do all the work by hand. From digging, planting, ridging, and weeding to harvesting. Mechanisation is mainly limited to a two-wheeled tractor used in horticulture. Once these have become more common, scale enlargement will be the next step. The use of fertiliser for potatoes is increasing. NPK 21-23-0 is used a lot, but also urea, ammonium nitrate and potassium sulphate. Dissemination and spraying is all done manually. The utilisation of fertiliser is seldom optimal and this also applies to the use of other resources such land, water and labour. Here in this area, a commercial laboratory that could deal with issues such as soil quality and fertiliser, and could also give advice, could earn a package here. The use of crop protection chemicals against pests and diseases such as Phytophthora, White fly and Potato tuber moth is not very professional. The use of decision-supporting systems would improve cultivation enormously. Quite an improvement could also be achieved where the supply of water is concerned. Fifty percent of cultivation takes place outside the rainy season. Growers irrigate their plots, but often use either too much or not enough water. If they supply too much water, Consumers in Tete and Maputo are used to eat processed food. much of the nitrogen is washed away. Sprinkler irrigation with water from mountain rivers would be a better alternative. Prices are fairly consistent The dominant varieties at the open markets in the towns in the potato-growing areas of Tete, Tsangano and Angonia are Rosita, Violet, BP1 and sometimes Clon4 Weis. Wholesalers, market vendors or intermediaries buy the potatoes from the growers at an average price of 22 eurocents per kilogram. When the yield is Potato World 2014 • number 4 33 Pagina 72

Pagina 74

Interactieve e-krant, deze PDF of onderzoeksrapport is levensecht online geplaatst met Online Touch en bied het converteren naar een online publicatie van epublicaties.

Potatoworld 2014/4 Lees publicatie 34Home