Potato growers from the Philippines eager to learn from P.E.I. industry

CBC
·4 min read
The delegation from the Philippines visited a field in York, P.E.I., to check out a potato planter. (Ken Linton/CBC - image credit)
The delegation from the Philippines visited a field in York, P.E.I., to check out a potato planter. (Ken Linton/CBC - image credit)

A group from the Philippines has been travelling around Prince Edward Island this week, trying to learn all they can from the P.E.I. potato industry.

The delegation includes members of the United Potato Producers of Benguet Mountain Province Incorporated (UPPBMI), as well as Cheryl Cabellero with the Philippines' Department of Agriculture.

Cabellero said the trip has a couple of goals: to give Filipino farmers an "immersion" with their counterparts on P.E.I., and to explore policies to support the emerging potato industry in the Philippines.

"It's not our staple food, but it is one of the important crops that is being considered in the Philippines as an alternative or complementary, of course, to rice, which is our basic staple," she said.

"The Filipinos love, of course, french fries. So we look forward to more chipping potatoes, as well as developing more marble potatoes for our household consumption."

Cheryl Cabellero- Undersecretary for High Value Crops- Department of Agriculture, Govt of Philippines
Cheryl Cabellero- Undersecretary for High Value Crops- Department of Agriculture, Govt of Philippines

Agriculture undersecretary Cheryl Cabellero is in charge of high-value crops for the Department of Agriculture in the Philippines. (Ken Linton/CBC)

This is a return trip for one member of the group. Potato farmer Ardan Copas was part of the first delegation from the Philippines to visit Prince Edward Island in 2019.

That year, a private company imported seed potatoes from Prince Edward Island, and growers in the Philippines have been impressed by the results.

"That's why we are here again, because we have some good potato seed here that we can also plant in the Philippines, in our farm," Copas said.

"We get the seedlings from you, 80,000 kilos. and we brought it to the Philippines and it is very adaptable. We get a good production. Our mission is to get seedlings everywhere here."

Copas is one of eight farmers touring the Island this week.

Basilio Copas, left, is president of the United Potato Producers of Benguet Mountain Province Incorporated. His son Ardan Copas is general manager. (Ken Linton/CBC)

"The farmers are here because they want to see where the seedlings come from. Why is it so very good? And they want to learn ... how they produce here."

Copas grows potatoes in a mountainous area of the Philippines, and on much smaller farms than the ones he's seeing on Prince Edward Island.

"We are very small farms," he said. "We are up in the mountains, so it's 2,900 meters above sea level."

Copas said the goal is to grow more potatoes, and with a population of 190 million Filipinos, there is a lot of potential.

Potatoes are grown in mountainous regions of the Philippines, and most of the work is done by hand. (Submitted by Ardan Copas)

Basilio Copas, Ardan's father, is president of the United Potato Producers of Benguet Mountain Province.

He said there is a lot to learn.

"We want to come here to observe and learn your new technology because you are advanced [by] 70 to 100 years," Basilio Copas said. "Because in our country we are using sticks and bamboo baskets. Here you are using machinery. So we are behind."

He said the industry in the Philippines needs more seed potatoes from P.E.I. to help expand production. 

"We lack potato seeds and storage and laboratories and greenhouses," he said. "So that is our mission here: to observe and if possible, we will copy and apply in our country."

Potential opportunities abroad

Greg Donald, the general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board, said there are a couple of potential opportunities for the the province's potato industry in the Philippines.

"Fresh potatoes for processing, and we have exported some ... in the past year to Philippines. So we're looking to grow that business," Donald said.

"There's representatives on this delegation with the company that purchased those potatoes, and they're very significant large food company in the Philippines. So that's one opportunity."

One of the farmers from the Philippines checks out the equipment at the Shaw Brothers Farm in York, P.E.I.
One of the farmers from the Philippines checks out the equipment at the Shaw Brothers Farm in York, P.E.I.

One of the farmers from the Philippines checks out the equipment at the Shaw Brothers Farm in York, P.E.I. (Ken Linton/CBC)

Donald also sees the sale of seed potatoes to the Philippines as an area for growth.

"Like us, they want to grow potatoes that the market needs and wants to provide and overcome any food insecurities," he said.

"So they're always looking to grow and improve. If we can be part of that, we're very happy about that."

The delegation from the Philippines visited numerous farms across the Island, along with the Agriculture Canada research station in Harrington, and potato exporters.

The group leaves early Saturday morning.

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