Abstract
Since 2013 the Netherlands Ministries of Economic and Foreign Affairs has been involved in private companies in research and development (R&D) in developing countries. This in a policy going “from aid to trade”. Especially in upcoming markets, R&D is carried out through Public Private Partnerships. Such partnerships not only include R&D organizations in the two countries but specifically also include businesses in both countries. This was to assure a logical flow of material and knowledge by all parties involved. Half of an R&D project is funded by the ministry and the rest is covered by a consortium of companies that contribute in kind and in cash. The policy is aimed at stimulating business development in developing countries and the Netherlands through cooperation and joint R&D. The paper explains how eleven consortia around potato business opportunities were formed, their R&D need was elicited and R&D projects formulated in the Asian countries China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and Ethiopia and Kenya in Africa. In common are fact finding and descriptions of cropping systems, yield gap analysis and value chains in each country. Emphases differ with China looking for an integrated system of field operations, India for optimization of storage and processing, Indonesia to reduce pesticide and nutrient inputs, Vietnam for widening the varietal base, Bangladesh for combating late blight, Myanmar for cultural practices that lead to increased yield, Ethiopia where a potato processing unit is being established and Kenya importing seed potato from the Netherlands. Some content information is given as examples to illustrate the approach and some preliminary conclusion are discussed.
References
FAOstat, http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC, Accessed December 1, 2016Search in Google Scholar
F&B, The World’s Top 100 Food and Beverage Companies of 2014, http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/global-top-100-food-&- beverage-companies, Accessed January 10, 2017Search in Google Scholar
Haverkort A.J., Franke A.C, Steyn J.M., Pronk A.A., Caldiz D.O., Kooman P.L, A robust potato model: LINTUL-POTATO-DSS. Potato Research, 2015, 58, 313-32710.1007/s11540-015-9303-7Search in Google Scholar
Haverkort A.J., van Koesveld M.J.; Schepers H.T.A.M., Wijnands J.H.M., Wustman R.and Zhang X., Potato prospects for Ethiopia: on the road to value addition. PPO publication 528. PPO-AGV Wageningen UR, Lelystad, NL., 2012, pp. 55Search in Google Scholar
Janssens S.R.M., Wiersema S.G., Goos H. and Wiersma W., The value chain for seed and ware potatoes in Kenya Opportunities for development. LEI Memorandum 13-080. LEI Wageningen UR, Den Haag, NL, 2013, pp. 57 Search in Google Scholar
Kempenaar C., Pronk A.A., Haverkort A.J., Kessel G.J.T., Michielsen J.M., de Ruijter F.J., Lyu D., Wan S., Fan G., Bai Y., Min F., Guo M., Zhang S., Yang S., Gaoet Y., China Potato GAP 2013-2016. Results of a public private partnership on innovation of potato production in China. Report 679. Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen, NL, 2017Search in Google Scholar
OECD, Innovation, Agricultural productivity and sustainability in the Netherlands. OECD Food and Agricultural Reviews. OECD Publishing, Paris, France, 2015, pp. 188 Search in Google Scholar
Pronk A.A., Wustman R., Haverkort A.J., van den Brink L., Janssens S.R.M., and Schoutsen M.A., Annual Report Topsector Potato India and Ethiopia 2014. Report 620. PRI Wageningen UR, Wageningen, NL, 2015 Search in Google Scholar
Pronk A.A., Haverkort A.J., van den Brink L., Janssens S.R.M., Meijer B., ter Beke F., de Vries S., Schoutsen M., Michielsen J.M., Kempenaar C., Report Topsector Potato India and Ethiopia 2015/16. Report 687. Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen, NL, 201710.18174/418740Search in Google Scholar
Topsector Horticulture, Horticulture and propagation materials, http://www.thedecisioninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Topsector-Horticulture-and-propagation-materials-Englishsummary.pdf, Accessed January 10, 2017Search in Google Scholar
Vasco Silva J., Reidsma P., van Ittersum M.K., Yield gaps in Dutch farming systems: Analysis at crop and crop rotation level. Agricultural Systems, 2017, 158, 78-9210.1016/j.agsy.2017.06.005Search in Google Scholar
Worldometer, http://oikosonline.nl/2016/02/12/worldometer-realtime-wereldstatistieken/, Accessed July 11, 2016Search in Google Scholar
Friedman M., Nutritional Value of Proteins from Different Food Sources. A Review. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, 1996, 44(1), 6-2910.1021/jf9400167Search in Google Scholar
© 2017
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.
