Aldemaro Ortega, the president of Asopapa Carabobo and director of Venezuela's Federation of Potatoes and Vegetables (Fenaphort) said that 20,000 bags of seeds of potatoes for industrial use had arrived in the country on Sunday.
He said the seeds were brought from Canada and that producers would start planting 250 hectares on the 15th of this month. The harvest obtained will be processed by the Pepsico company to produce potato chip snacks. They'll have enough supply for three months, he added.
"This seeds will allow us to produce potatoes for the industry," he said. Regarding the seeds of potatoes for fresh consumption, he said the government had clearly stated last year that it didn't have the funds to buy them at preferential dollar prices and that it had given producers permits to bring them in at free dollar prices.
Ortega said that potatoes had a high cost because there was a lack of stimulation through a planting plan that led to a decrease in supply.
He asked the President of the Republic, Nicolas Maduro, to make an economic effort to bring, through Agropatria, 5,000 tons of seed of potatoes for fresh consumption that still remain in Canada. These seeds would serve to implement a planting plan in Merida, Tachira, and Trujillo.
"That amount is good for 7,000 hectares. We are still on time and that will help ease the shortage of this product and the high prices there are," he said.
He said that, once the imported seed is harvested, the large potatoes are sent to the market and the small ones are returned to the field. That latter is known as the offspring of the imported ones. This cycle can be repeated up to five times but producers will obtain lower yields. "The Andean states need to replenish their seeds because they have performed up to five cycles this way and the potatoes degenerate," he said.
Since the last quarter of last year, Fenaphort warned that the high costs had led many farmers to migrate to the cultivation of legumes. 1,100 hectares will be planted in Carabobo. 250 for Pepsico's use will be cultivated now and, in December, the state planted 100 hectares for fresh consumption through a planting plan via the Fondas, he said.
"The problem now is the small amount of seeding because we won't be able to comply with the production percentages. Carabobo accounted for nearly 30% of the country's production and we'll be lucky if we produce 10% of it," he said.
Regarding inputs, he said that Admiral Jose Gregorio Aguilera, who had been appointed president of Agropatria in December, had told them he was willing to help them solve their problems.
Source: el-carabobeno.com