{"id":9671,"date":"2023-08-15T08:25:36","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T08:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=9671"},"modified":"2023-08-18T11:31:38","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T11:31:38","slug":"why-ugandas-irish-potatoes-not-fit-for-chips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/why-ugandas-irish-potatoes-not-fit-for-chips\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Uganda\u2019s Irish potatoes not fit for chips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Zurah Nakabugo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Uganda has the world\u2019s youngest population of over 78 percent below 30 years, and their best food is chips, the country still has bad Irish potatoes that don\u2019t meet global quality and safety standards to make chips in bigger restaurants like KFC, State Minister for Agriculture , Fred Kyakulaga has said .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyakulaga, said that most farmers attributed the cause of bad quality Irish potatoes to available potato seeds in the country, poor farming methods and infertile land in some areas which can\u2019t produce good potatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

State minister for Agriculture Kyakulaga<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is why bigger restaurants in Uganda like KFC, Caf\u00e9 Javas are importing Irish potatoes for making chips and crisps due to high demand, since the variety of potatoes available are not tasty for chips and also not suitable for machine peeling and cutting into chips and crisps. The potatoes also don\u2019t have good size and shape for chips,\u201d Kyakulaga, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uganda which has a population of over 47 million, also has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in Sub-Saharan Africa, which can grow potatoes and earn a leaving from chips and crisps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dennis Ngabirano, the CEO, Sumz Food Industries, Yona Baguma, Director General NARO and Bulegeya Komayombi, the National Chairperson UNAPO <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyakulaga also said, Ugandan farmers, have a challenge of failing to supply potatoes consistently to bigger restaurants and companies like Sumz which make crisps, and this retards development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCurrently we estimate to be producing about 800,000 metric tons of Irish potatoes in Uganda annually but the demand for potatoes is about 2 million tons which is high. This leads to bigger restaurants and companies importing potatoes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister was opening the national potatoes stakeholders\u2019 meeting in Kampala oraganised by Uganda National Potato Organisation (UNAPO) Secretariat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyakulaga said, since potato is becoming a very important crop in our economy in terms of food and income security, the meeting aimed at inviting different stake holders in the potato industry to discuss the potato value chain and agree on how to develop the potato sub- sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister also said the bigger restaurants in Uganda are also importing potato frozen chips for making chips since the local varieties of Irish potatoes are not meeting the demands of consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCurrently the farmers have started growing a potato called \u2018oblong\u2019 and \u2018sagita\u2019, which will be suitable for making chips and crisps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dennis Ngabirano, the Chief Executive Officer of Sumz Food Industries Ltd said, \u201cmost times we don\u2019t purchase Ugandan potatoes which don\u2019t meet our international quality standards for making chips for crisps.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Dennis Ngabirano, the CEO, Sumz Food Industries Ltd – Copy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike some potatoes supplied to us, has high sugar content, which most farmers have failed to control and this is not good for chips,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ngabirano said, they also have a challenge of farmers not being reliable and stable in supplying Irish Potatoes which retards business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe potatoes with high sugar levels have a problem of banning out when they are deep fried and they can\u2019t produce good chips and crisps,\u201d he explained .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yona Baguma, the Director General NARO, advised farmers and stake holders involved in potato sub-sector to consistently produce potatoes of same size on the market which can easily be bought by bigger restaurants and hotels annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must encourage farmer organisations to reach many farmers for extension services and market the produce. We also urge them to use the right variety of potatoes to suit the demands of consumer tests and grow potatoes that are resistant to drought, pests and diseases,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bulegeya  Komayombi, the National Chairperson UNAPO advised farmers to acquire smart agriculture techniques, use automated water systems and fertilizer application systems to yield good quality potatoes that compete on the international market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need export potato and stop importing. We are now exporting potatoes worth US$2 to 4 million from regional market per year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor:msserwanga@gmail.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Zurah Nakabugo Although Uganda has the world\u2019s youngest population of over 78 percent below 30 years, and their best<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","category-agriculture"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/National-Potato-stakeholders-pose-for-a-photo.--scaled.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10985,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/adf-kills-10-ugandans-in-kamwenge\/","url_meta":{"origin":9671,"position":0},"title":"ADF Kills 10 Ugandans in Kamwenge","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"December 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The UPDF has launched manhunt for a group maruading ADF bandits that attacked a village in Kamwenge district and hacked to death 10 Ugandans. 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