Minggu iki, aktor-aktor utama saka sektor kentang Georgia rapat sacara virtual kanggo ngrembug ide-ide kanggo ningkatake sektor kentang negara kasebut.
Diarani "Forum Kentang Georgia, "Rapat kasebut fokus ing cara kanggo nggawe rantai nilai kanggo nambah kesempatan pasar kanggo para tani nalika nyedhiyakake pasar lan konsumen kentang kanthi kualitas luwih dhuwur. Forum kasebut minangka sing pertama ing seri sing bakal dilanjutake ing taun 2021 lan disponsori dening Badan Pengembangan Internasional Amerika Serikat (USAID) lan Badan Pengembangan Austria (ADA).
Peter Wiebler, the USAID Mission Director for Georgia welcome the guests and panelists to Forum, reviewing his agency’s goals for their involvement in the country. “We are here to help Georgia become more self-reliant by planning and developing solutions to its own challenges, starting with the agriculture sector. [Improving the potato sector] will provide households with more high-quality food and the higher revenues will bolster long-term economic growth. We know we can accomplish these goals with high-quality varieties from the International Potato Center (CIP) and by making market connections with private sector representatives here today.”
Iuri Nozadze, Wakil Menteri ing Kementerian Perlindungan Lingkungan lan Pertanian, matur nuwun marang USAID lan ADA amarga investasi lan nyathet karya penting sing ditindakake kanggo nglatih para petani lan spesialis penyuluhan praktik pertanian anyar sing bisa ngasilake panen sing luwih dhuwur, nanging luwih murah pengaruhe ing lingkungan kasebut.
Samarendu Mohanty, CIP’s Regional Director for Asia, offered the third and final welcome to the Forum with great optimism, citing CIP’s success in India with apical rooted cuttings to improve seed quality for farmers, which would strengthen future harvests. “When farmers become self-sufficient with producing their own seed, the benefits are two-fold. They save money because they do not need to buy seed and they produce higher yields.”
Known in Georgia as “second bread,” potato has more than commercial promise in Georgia, said Ian Barker, the Program Director of Global Potato Agrifood Systems at CIP. Potato is the world’s third most important crop. Its high water efficiency and short growing cycle make it a “good friend” to farmers who wish to grow an extra round of crops in between cereal harvests. As a result, potato cultivation has grown from 20 million tons to 200 million tons in Asia since the 1960s and more growth is possible with proper investment in irrigation, processing, and market development.
"CIP is pleased to be on this journey to self-reliance with Georgia,” Barker said.
The keynote presentation followed from Jorge Andrade, a plant pathology specialist with CIP, who discussed the institutions work with market-based approaches to potato sector development, and specifically Pendekatan Rantai Pasar Partisipatif.
"Pakaryan kita yaiku nyengkuyung permintaan pasar kanggo kentang, nalika ngembangake rantai nilai sing luwih kuwat sing bisa ngasilake penghasilan sing luwih dhuwur kanggo petani."
Andrade gave an example of the Kiwa brand potato chips in Peru, made from potatoes of various hues and harvested in the Andes Mountains. CIP worked with producers and the private sector in Lima to develop this product, which they launched in a National Potato Day event in 2016. The chips are now sold in 30 countries around the world, drawing premium prices.
Ing Georgia, Andrade ujar, dheweke ngarep-arep entuk break-up sing padha. Karya awal kanggo ngembangake sistem winih sing luwih kuwat diwiwiti karo peternakan wiji lan stasiun perkalian, uga mbentuk hubungan antara petani lan pasar.
After Andrade’s presentation, a 20–minute discussion followed, moderated by Rusudan Mdviani, CIP’s Regional Leader for Central Asia and Caucasus. The back and forth allowed attendees from private sector and government officials to ask more questions about perceived future challenges and means to overcome these obstacles.
