The Plateau State Value Chain Support Project has disclosed that the capacity of potatoes production by farmers in the state has hit 960,000 metric tons annually.
This was disclosed by the state Project Coordinator, Mr Thomas Muopshin, in an interview on Sunday in Jos, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
The Coordinator revealed that production capacity had grown tremendously in recent years due to the introduction of disease-tolerant species of potatoes and the use of more plant treating systems. He also added that the Value Chain project has also linked farmers with dealers who work closely to improve input and productivity.
“The farmers that got frustrated out of business came back and are now established potatoes, farmers.
Potato farmers now have a readymade market, thereby making a huge profit from the product more than ever before,” he said.
What you should know
- The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently reported that food inflation stood at 21.83% in June 2021 compared to 22.28% in May 2021 while core inflation which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce dropped from 13.15% recorded in May 2021 to 13.09% in the review period.
- The average annual rate of change of the Food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending June 2021 over the previous twelve-month average was 19.72%. Rising food index is attributed to increases in the prices of Bread and Cereals, Potatoes, Yam and other Tubers, Milk, Cheese and Eggs, Fish, Soft drinks, Vegetables, Oils and fats, and Meat.