Potatoes South Africa: the way forward

Prof André Jooste recently took over as CEO of Potatoes South Africa (PSA), after nearly six years at the National Agriculture Marketing Council (NAMC). He spoke to Robyn Joubert of Farmers Weekly (South Africa) about his vision for the future.

What do you see as PSA’s top priorities?

One of my major goals is to reposition the potato industry in South Africa so that it makes a meaningful contribution to food security and rural development. Potatoes are a useful rotation crop in many areas and the potato is a beneficial component of a well-balanced diet.

I would like to see potato growing as an agro-industry of preference, in which government and non-government organisations partner the local potato industry to work towards the goals of food security and rural development – and in particular transformation through smallholder farmer development. We need to build partnerships and alliance networks within the industry and outside the sector in other agricultural spheres. What is crucial is that we communicate our efforts, our success stories and our commitment so that everyone is on the same page.

What in-house shifts can be expected at PSA?

We aim to improve information flow and intensify knowledge management services;to expand and build research and development across the value chain;and to build capacity and programmes pertaining to market information and product promotion. PSA plans to reposition its business services so that provincial PSA offices can address the specific needs of producers and contribute to the transformation process through expertise and skills in potato farming.

What do you see as the challenges of 2013?

One of our biggest challenges will be to grow demand. There is no point in growing supply without developing demand.

We have a number of programmes in place projected to grow consumption in LSM (living standards measure) 4 to 7. This includes a presence at shows, festivals and sporting programmes such as the Comrades Marathon. We also have foreign market development activities for export growth. Our focus is to increase consumer awareness of the benefits of eating potatoes as part of a healthy diet. In addition, we need to re-engineer and accelerate transformation activities which will include leveraging and building strategic partnerships.