Site preparations for the potato processing factory in Rogatica are nearing completion and construction of the foundation should begin soon, and the launch of this facility will, according to the authorities and farmers, significantly improve production and ensure safe placement of domestic products.
The new production capacity in this area will represent an important step forward for local producers who have been facing an unstable market and uncertain purchase for years, he writes. Glaserbska.
By building a factory, potatoes produced in this region would gain additional value through processing, which would directly affect the growth of farmers’ income.
The new processing capacity also opens up new employment opportunities, and it could encourage the expansion of sown areas, as producers would have a more certain placement and clearer purchase conditions. According to those in the know, this would contribute to greater price stability, as well as reducing dependence on imports.
The headquarters of the factory will be in Borika, in the locality of Arnautovići, in an area where there are 18 villages where potatoes are the basis of agricultural production. Every year, 5,000 tons of seed and commercial potatoes are harvested from the Borika plateau and other areas of the municipality. Producers use part of those potatoes for their own needs, and the surplus goes to the domestic market, as well as to Serbia.
However, in spite of that, every year there was a lot of potatoes left over that were used for cattle feed or went to waste.
In order to avoid this, the idea of opening a potato processing plant came to life, and as things stand, this idea is getting closer to realization. On an area of about two dunums, the terrain is being extensively prepared these days.
“If everything goes according to plan, excavation and laying of the foundations of the future factory should begin soon, in which the first phase of work foresees the peeling and vacuuming of potatoes for freezing. The second and third phases are the completion of the assortment of frozen potato products for local and other markets,” said the newly appointed director Uroš Planojević.
What do farmers say?
Dragan Džida, a farmer from Borik, who produces an average of 300 tons of potatoes annually, says that the processing plant will come in handy.
“It is important for us that the domestic product enters the processing. If the import of anything and everything is allowed, then it will be a failed investment,” said Đida.
Goran Ujić from Podgaj in the local community of Gučevo also agrees with him, who annually harvests up to 100 tons of potatoes for eating. Due to the lack of capacity for finishing and processing, he said that there were years when he used trucks to throw potatoes at the garbage dump.
“With the opening of the factory, I hope that this will no longer happen and that the market will be more organized and responsible,” said Ujić.
Potato producer Nenad Vuković from Donji Obrtić believes that the start of the processing plant will gain particular importance in a few years when the work is completed.
“All in all, we expect better days for all producers in the hope that there will be more and more of them from year to year,” Vuković pointed out.
