The result of this project will be an objective analysis of the potato sector. It will present the prospects and bottlenecks of the sector to the Ukrainian government and international partners, potential local and foreign investors. As a result, the industry will have the opportunity to develop. The real picture will significantly help the potato sector become more predictable, produce sufficient amount of quality potatoes for the domestic market, and prevent unpredictable price fluctuations and imports.
So, the project has been successfully launched and we already have the following results:
All the results of the research conducted by the KSE team on each topic of the focus group were presented by Maria Bogonos, Head of the Food and Land Use Research Center (KSE Agrocenter).
The result of each focus group was the verification or clarification of hypotheses, the identification of real practical barriers, and the collection of expert information on how these barriers affect the processes and mechanisms of the supply chains of the potato sector in Ukraine.
The focus group meetings had great interest from the UAPP participants, the number participating companies was constantly increasing from meeting to meeting. The topics were so relevant and important that the discussion lasted more than two hours each.
Thus, some hypotheses after discussions have changed and will be further revised by the team of KSE-Agrocenter. However the approach when analytical data is verified by industry representatives is proved to be very efficient.
Potato is a niche crop, or as it is called in the network of chemical companies - a special crop. And although the vast majority of Ukrainians grow or grew potatoes, professional industrial production of quality potatoes is a complex and very technological process, each element of which requires maximum attention.
For example, during the focus group discussion it became clear that the choice of inappropriate equipment for loading or sorting of potatoes in large daily volumes can become a real bottleneck that will stop the operation of a whole chain producer-processor-exporter.
Another important aspect for Ukrainian producers are the obstacles that, unfortunately, are created by f.e. environmental organizations. The lack of clear rules and norms leads to formal, often unnecessary inspections of irrigation systems than humpers the potato growing. Without irrigation it is almost impossible to grow high quality potato.
This is just a small example of the identified bottlenecks. Work on the project is ongoing. KSE Agrocenter is updating the materials of the draft report. The first edition will be available soon for verification by the sector representatives.