Vicampro Farms Plans N10bn Potato Processing Plant (In Kaduna) (By:leadership.ng)

A mechanised agro-allied company, Vicampro Farms, said it would establish a N10billion potato french fries plant in Manchok, Kaura local government area of Kaduna State.

The secretary and legal adviser of the company, Mrs Adediran Adeola, told newsmen in Kaduna that the project was the only one in West Africa.

According to Adeola, the French fries plant was a massive project with the latest technology that would cost about N10billion.She said the plant has the capacity to process 2,500 tonnes of potatoes daily and create more than 2,000 jobs.

Adeola described French fries as a matchstick-size cut potato, normally deep-fried but could also be cooked in an oven.She added that it was generally salted and often served hot, either soft or crispy with ketchup and eaten as part of lunch, dinner or as a snack.

She said, “Majority of the French fries that we consume in Nigeria are imported.Therefore, the plant when completed will bridge the importation gap, open up rural communities and create huge employment in rural areas.

“Projects like this change the face of the community it is located in and injecting N10 billion into this project will change the economy of Manchok forever.”

Adeola said that the company currently had about 700 hectares of land in Plateau where it grows potatoes, but that it was grossly inadequate to meet the needs of the plant.

She said that to successfully run the French fries plant, the company needed about 10,000 hectares of land, in addition to the 700 hectares to meet the factory’s daily need of 2,500 tonnes of potatoes.

The company’s scribe said the firm was already discussing with the Kaduna State government and other relevant authorities to gain access to the land located along Manchok-Jankasa Road.

“We have 500 farmers in Plateau and so far, we have got about five hundred farmers in Manchok ready to partner with us on potato production.

“We will give them quality seeds, help them with the needed technology and mechanisation to ensure better yield and buy off the produce from them so that the plant can operate successfully.

“By the time the project is full blown, we hope to engage over 1, 000 farmers and another 1,000 people to work in the factory.

“It is a win-win situation for Manchok people, Kaduna State and Nigeria as a whole.”