News
Hopes for potato farming in the Kingdom running high
After determining the best provinces in the country to grow potatoes, Cambodian scientists are now working to figure out what varieties adapt best to the local soil and will have the highest yields.
Initial tests conducted by scientists at the Potato Research Institute, a centre in the Royal University of Agriculture, suggest that Mondulkiri, Pursat and Battambang provinces have the right soil and climate conditions for growing the crop.
Song Kheang, the director of Mondulkiri’s agriculture department, said further testing is needed before proceeding to plant the crop, however.
“We are still conducting tests. We have one more round of tests before we can claim that the province is suitable for farming potatoes,” Mr Kheang said.
“After three initial testing phases, we can say the soil in the province is suitable for potatoes, but there are still some problems, so we need to keep testing,” Mr Kheang said.
He refused to go into detail regarding the nature of those problems.
“Our potatoes will sell very well in Phnom Penh. Cambodia now imports a lot of potatoes from abroad, but we will soon begin producing ourselves which means we will reduce our reliance on imports,” Mr Kheang added.
In Pursat, the results of initial testing have also been encouraging.
Lay Piseth, head of Pursat’s agricultural department, said they are now working on selecting the best varieties that can be grown in the province.
“A Korean firm has been conducting tests for farming potatoes here with positive results. We still want to carry out some more tests to determine the best varieties,” he said.
Mr Piseth acknowledged that the potatoes yielded by the tests were smaller in size than imported varieties.
Cambodia now imports more than 5,000 tonnes of potatoes every year from Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Australia and the US, according to the Potato Research Institute.
Latest News
The World Potato Congress Inc. (WPC), a global potato network, is leading numerous local potato driven initiatives in developing regions of the world in response to growing food security concerns…
COVID-19 has shaken the whole world impacting society and the global economy similar to the effect of a world war. Among many economic sectors, the frozen potato products value chain…
World Potato Congress Webinar May 05, 2020 at 09:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time with Dr. Monica Parker Presenting: “Diversified Use of Apical Cuttings to Boost Potato Seed Systems” World Potato…
WPC is pleased to continue its webinar series and is extremely pleased to have Dr. Alex Karasev present “Potato Viruses: An Update”. ABSTRACT Viruses affect potato in two ways, by…
The World Potato Congress is extremely pleased to be offering its third webinar in 2020 featuring Dr. Leah Tsror. Powdery scab causes significant economic damage in potato production worldwide due…
www.worldpotatomarkets.com The increase in world potato production stalled in 2018 and failed to recover significantly in 2019. World output slipped by =1.5% to 368.247 million tonnes in 2018 figures just…
World Potato Congress Inc. Webinar Reminder – February 20, 2020 with Hein Kruyt, CEO, Solynta – What’s All This Talk About Hybrid Breeding and Hybrid True Potato Seeds (HTPS) Revolutionizing…
World Potato Congress Inc. February 20, 2020 Webinar with Hein Kruyt, CEO Solynta – What’s all this talk about Hybrid breeding and Hybrid True Potato Seeds (HTPS) revolutionizing the potato…
WEBINAR REMINDER January 24, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. EST Presenter: Dr. David Douches Subject: Feed the Future – Biotechnology Potato Partnership: Durable Late Blight Resistance to South East Asia The…
January 24, 2020 Webinar with Dr. David Douches: Feed the Future – Biotechnology Potato Partnership: Durable Late Blight Resistance to South East Asia The World Potato Congress (WPC) is very…