Potato seed company boosts local agriculture with nine high-yield varieties
DHAMAR, Aug. 30 (YPA) – The General Company for Potato Seed Production has announced the successful completion of studies and research that led to the development of nine new national potato seed varieties aimed at improving domestic agricultural productivity.
The company’s Director General, engineer Hamdan Zaid Al-Akwa, said the new varieties are characterized by high yields and enhanced resistance to agricultural diseases and pests.
He affirmed that they represent a significant advancement in promising field trials and research on potato breeding and improvement, led by expert Yahya Haider, adding that the varieties will be officially unveiled in the coming days.
Al-Akwa said the new varieties, which possess distinctive characteristics, mark a shift toward improving the productivity of potato seeds. He noted that they have a high degree of purity and are free from viral and bacterial diseases and agricultural pests.
He noted that the development represents the continuation of key efforts undertaken by the company since the early years of the war on Yemen, focusing on increasing productivity through vertical expansion and land reclamation. These efforts, he added, culminated in ending the import bill, which previously cost the state treasury more than $2 million annually, and achieving self-sufficiency in potato seeds by mid-2022.
Al-Akwa described attempts to smuggle and introduce contaminated and disease-infected seeds into the country as a serious threat to Yemen’s agricultural sector and food security.
He warned that the introduction of such infected seeds could undermine key agricultural resources and compromise food security.
He said the current phase places a national responsibility on everyone—including traders, farmers and officials—to advance the agricultural and economic sectors, with a focus on nationally prioritized crops and efforts to eliminate the country’s import bill.
Al-Akwa added that the agricultural front represents another dimension of the broader national effort and is essential to consolidating gains and overcoming the economic blockade imposed on the country, according to 26 September Net.
He also praised the exceptional efforts of the company’s employees, seed multipliers and others working behind the scenes as part of an integrated and effective team, describing them as a key pillar in meeting the needs of the Yemeni people.
AA