Summary

Mr Pastorek, a small potato producer in Slovakia, used RDP support to improve the competitiveness and processing capacity of his farm. The project financed the replacement of an old and outdated processing line for potatoes with a new one to improve the processing of freshly harvested potatoes. The purchase included  conveyors and automatic weighing and packaging machines.

Results

The investment led to an increased volume of processed potatoes and improved quality. Around 24 tonnes of potatoes can be processed in 8-9 hours compared to 13-14 hours in the past and the new machines can be better controlled offering time savings.

A lack of processing capacity led to downsizing of the farm from 10 ha to 8 ha, but thanks to the modernising effort more than 10 ha can now be cultivated.

Currently the potatoes are processed and packaged according to the strict criteria of the distributors and can be distributed to a higher number of Slovak and Czech shop networks.

Τhe farm is planning to create one permanent job.