• Chikankata district in Southern Province has one of the best potatoes which are produced by small scale farmers.
• The people need a bit of a polish up for them to be washing their potato and package it.
• Provide them with machinery where they will be able to wash their potatoes and package it to meet export standards.

Fruit and Vegetable Traders Association has called on government to procure machinery for washing and packaging potatoes produced by small scale farmers in order to meet export standards.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Association President Bernard Sikunyongana says local farmers are capable of producing quality potatoes which can find themselves on international markets but lack machinery to clean and package their produce.
Mr. Sikunyongana notes that Zambia has completely stopped the importation of potatoes, due to availability of quality potatoes locally but that sadly they are being produced by white commercial farmers who have now started exporting.
“I want to see that there is participation from the lower ground. We small scale farmers should be able to participate into exports as well, that is what I’m looking at myself, to lift production standards among small scale farmers.”
“Currently Zambia has stopped the importation of potatoes, we have stopped completely and we have quality potatoes. But who is producing those quality potatoes? It is only white commercial farmers. There is no black person who is doing those potatoes you are seeing around and now we are exporting, but that does not mean there are no black people who can produce potatoes,” Mr. Sikunyongana said.
He added that Chikankata district in Southern Province has one of the best potatoes which are produced by small scale farmers and what they need is a bit of a polish up, hence the need for government to release funds to buy machinery and group the farmers so that they are able to export.
“If you go to Chikankata today, there is one of the best potatoes which are produced by small scale farmers in Chikankata and those people what they need is a bit of a polish up for them to be washing their potato and package it, meaning they will meet the standards. Provide them with machinery where they will be able to wash their potatoes and package it to meet export standards. Let them release money to buy machinery and group the farmers and then they will be able to export.”
“Just in Zimbabwe before they chased the white farmers, they could get money, and put a packaging shed in a place like Chisamba here in Zambia where all the farmers who are producing potatoes can take their potatoes for washing and packaging. If they are into oranges, all of them will bring their oranges to the packaging shed, package it and be able to export it because they will only need chemicals to polish it so that it can meet the export standards,” he added.