Prince Edward Island has a reputation around the world as a supplier of high-quality seed and tablestock potatoes and the province wants to extend that status to PEI potato technology.
On September 22, in the village of Przesmyki, approximately 180 kilometres east of Warsaw in Poland, a new 9,000 square foot potato storage facility was officially opened. The facility was designed, constructed and equipped using PEI technology.
The potato storage is part of a three-year project coordinated by Enterprise PEI in cooperation with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and the PEI Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to provide assistance to 11 farmers in the village which is in the major potato-producing province in Poland. The project is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency.
"This potato storage will be a showcase for PEI potato related technology in Eastern Europe as prospective clients will be shown through the facility. Tours from Slovenia and Hungary are being arranged for later this fall. An expansion of this project in Poland is also being discussed," says Steve Murray, Director, Canada/Prince Edward Island Trade Development Centre.
The potato storage will have immediate benefits to the local Polish farmers. It will allow them to market their crop in a more orderly fashion and compete with other European countries during the winter months for a higher price for their products. Poland is among the top three potato-producing countries in the world but loses between 30 to 40 percent of its crop in storage. Farmers are currently using in-ground storage which is then covered with straw and earth.
The storage facility was constructed by DeVries Development Ltd., Hunter River with materials supplied by MF Schurman. Potato handling equipment was supplied by Allan Equipment Ltd., Covehead and Gorman Controls, South Melville provided the ventilation/humidification equipment. An automated scale/bagger was supplied by Emery Machine Shop Ltd., Wood Islands and Coles Associates Ltd. of Charlottetown was the construction manager.
With a year and a half remaining in the project, the Polish farmers will continue to receive advice and training on potato production, with particular emphasis on harvest and post-harvest techniques which reduce bruising, operation of the storage unit as well as marketing and other components of business management.