From June 27- June 28, CSAM facilitated the Asian and Pacific Workshop on Whole-Process Mechanization of Potato Production, held in parallel with the China International Potato Expo 2016 and co-organized with the Agricultural Mechanization Chapter of China Society for Agricultural Machinery and the Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture of China.

Dr. Katinka Weinberger, Officer-in Charge of the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization delivered opening remarks and highlighted that regional efforts shall be made to achieve the full potential of potato in addressing hunger and food security in the region with the assistance of mechanization. Mr. Li Anning, Deputy Director General of National Agro-mechanization Technical Extension Station of the Ministry of Agriculture of China; and Ms. Yu Kongyan, Deputy Director of Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture of China made welcoming remarks. Mr. Lu Xiaoping, Regional Director of Asia-Pacific Centre of the International Potato Centre (IPC) delivered a keynote address and highlighted that IPC will seek opportunities to enhance the cooperation with CSAM in the field of potato mechanization in the future. 

Around 120 participants from 13 countries, i.e. Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, participated in the workshop and exchanged knowledge and best practices on potato and root crop mechanization in the Asia Pacific region. The presentations illustrated common challenges and constrains of the participating countries, such as, small and fragmented land holdings; limited purchasing power of the farmers; and low development level of potato mechanization; as well as underlined their shared needs for small,  efficient, affordable, and high-quality machinery for the whole value-chain of potato production.  

As a result of the fruitful discussion it was proposed that a regional cooperation mechanism shall be established for research and academic institutions on tuber and root crops mechanization in the region. Potential activities could include technology transfer, information sharing, joint research, value-added production, and capacity building. As a first step, CSAM will compile the country papers of respective countries and develop a concept note for such cooperation mechanism.

The participants were also invited to attend the Potato Industry Development Forum where Chinese and Dutch experts illustrated the latest progresses in potato production and visited the China International Potato Expo 2016. The workshop was concluded by a field visit, where participants had the occasion to observe different factories and establish links for future collaborations with local businesses.