First of its kind potato processing factory inaugurated in Iraq

June 25, 2021

The Dutch Ambassador to Iraq, Michel Rentenaar, and the Kurdistan Region (KRI) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani recently laid the foundation stone of a potato processing facility in Duhok province.

Sustainable jobs

The facility, the first of its kind in Iraq, will directly reach 8,000 farmers through capacity building activities on good agricultural practices, and create 160 sustainable jobs at the potato cold storages and processing factory. The factory will be capable of producing 6,000 tons of French fries each year as well as provide 10,000 job opportunities for refugees and internally displaced persons, with access to seasonal work on potato farms, a news release of the Dutch government states.

Contribute to local economic development

The project is part of an initiative to create sustainable jobs and support the domestic production of goods, and aims to meet the demand for locally-produced and processed potato products through further development and completion of the potato value chain. The objective is to achieve an increased and more resilient income for farmers and a sustainable, locally-sourced value chain, that supplies the regional market and contributes to local economic development. It will add a food processing component and potato chip factory to this value chain for the first time in KRI.

Sustainable Development Goals Partnership

The project funding is partly provided by the Sustainable Development Goals Partnership (SDGP-P) of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with 50 percent co-funding from the local Kurdistan Holland Company. Through SDGP-P, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs aims to support Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) that contribute to innovative solutions for issues related to food security and sustainable entrepreneurship in developing countries.

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