What a processor looks for in potatoes

A processing factory has not been buying potatoes from local farmers in one of the counties, leading to protests by residents and leaders.

In an attempt to improve its relationship with the unhappy farmers, the company’s management was invited to a special sitting to shed light on what stops it from buying the produce.

The company officials gave a presentation on selecting potatoes for processing into a ready-to-cook form, from the point the produce gets to the factory.
The factory officials told farmers that the most preferred potato variety is the shangi varieity as it gives the best results.

Inspection

On arrival at the factory, the weight of the potatoes is recorded.
Workers then sort the potatoes to remove damaged and diseased tubers.

The potatoes are then fed into a machine where the removal of soil, debris and chads (baby potato) is done before it is graded.

After that, inspectors remove the greening, spoilt and over-cut tubers.

The potatoes are then conveyed on a belt with grade four being taken out first, followed by grade three, two and lastly one.

The workers weigh the potatoes in every grade, after which the potatoes are put in crates, coded and stored in chambers.

Grading
A tuber should be oval and the size of an egg. Tubers should have yellow eyes. Size is the main criterion for grading.

Although grade one is the most preferred, about 88 per cent of the potatoes delivered to the factory were grade two and three.

There was need therefore to improve on quality.

And that was the message the managers sent to the farmers.

There are four things to consider before a factory can buy potatoes: maturity, whether they are healthy or diseased, the extent of damage if any or whether there are sprouting tubers.
Maturity is the major determinant of quality.

Tubers should have been harvested at the right time, and should have intact, hardened skin. They should not be over-age.

The produce should also be wholesome and free from any diseases, damage or defects.

Monitoring

Sprouting offshoots alter the chemistry of the tubers, thus affecting cooking quality. As a result, sprouting potatoes are at great risk of being rejected by any processor.

To improve on quality, the factory in question carried out regular extension services to encourage farmers adopt good agricultural practices.

These included regular monitoring and improved harvesting procedures such as dehaulming.

Dehaulming is the cutting of the aerial parts of the plants by a sickle or the use of chemicals when the crop is 80 to 90 days old.

This is usually done when the leaves turn yellow. Dehaulming assists in hardening the tubers, thus improving their storage and processing qualities.

Farmers were also shown how to properly store and package their produce.

One of the advantages of selling to a factory is that the farmer bypasses middlemen who insist on potatoes being packed in extended bags. Unlike the middlemen, factories buy their produce in kilogrammes.

The processor also gets the potatoes from the farm and offers extension services, thus assisting farmers to improve on quality. This also saves on transport costs on the part of the grower.

The factory offers a ready market and as farmers become regular customers, they are provided with inputs like fertiliser and seed.

However, this would mean that a farmer is only limited to selling the produce to the processor.