International expert of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the production of seed potatoes Mehmet Emin Chalishkan visited Uzbekistan to study the current situation in the country for the production of seed and ware potatoes, assess the potential, as well as the existing obstacles to the development of the potato sector, reports UzDaily portal. The expert mission was organized as part of the implementation of the FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan project “Recovery and development of the potato sector in response to COVID-19” in Uzbekistan, which was launched last year.
The goal of the project is to increase the production potential of the potato industry. To this end, within the framework of the project, work is underway to improve the system for registering potato varieties and seed certification, improving research in the field of modernizing potato production, developing the production of high-quality potatoes and improving storage conditions for products.
In Central Asia, the potato is the key crop with the greatest potential for food security. Since 2019, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, potato production in the country continues to grow steadily.
“Uzbekistan is a country with very fertile soils, where there is great potential for further development of potato production. However, potatoes are cold-resistant crops, and climatic conditions characterized by high temperatures during the growing season lead to a significant reduction in yield. In addition to heat stress, drought is also a threat. Further development of the potato sector requires modern irrigation systems, the widespread introduction of methods such as sprinkler irrigation, as well as the use of certified seeds,” said Mehmet Emin Chalishkan, FAO seed potato expert.
During the visit, the expert held meetings at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, at the Research Institute of Vegetables, Melons and Potatoes, at the Center for Variety Testing of Agricultural Crops, at the Seed Center and other specialized organizations, and also visited a potato processing plant and variety testing plots in Tashkent and Samarkand regions, talked with farmers involved in the production of potato seeds. During the past meetings, the current methods of production and use of certified seeds, the procedures for the seed potato certification system and the release of varieties were discussed.
As the expert noted, the lack of well-adapted domestic potato varieties and dependence on imported seeds impede the accelerated development of the industry. According to him, investments in the production and processing of potatoes by large private clusters are very important for the development of the potato sector in the country.