Joseph Farrugia, is a potato grower from Qrendi on the island of Malta, who is the brains behind the Maltese Gold potato brand.

Together with his partner, Michael, he produces and markets high-quality potatoes which are now being shipped directly to Holland.

Malta is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily, and enjoys a temperate climate with winter temperatures reaching 17°C, which allows farmers to grow vegetables all year round.

The island size is just 316 km2, this means that farm sizes are relatively small, with Joseph and Michael, managing 55 tumoli (over 6ha) of land in Qrendi – all dedicated to the cultivation of Alpha and Montreal potato varieties.

Despite the favourable growing conditions, potato production has been in decline on the island. Exports fell from 7,200t in the 2004 crop to just 3,100t in 2014, a massive 56% drop, with the number of hectares growing potatoes also dropping.

Farrugia has been growing potatoes all his life but the trade of locally grown potatoes has been difficult for local growers, with rising costs and a drop in prices. As a consequence, many growers have decided to grow another type of crop that would leave higher profits in their pockets.

Fed up of being a price taker, Farrugia looked for a potential buyer in Holland and, although this entailed a lot of work, together with Michael, they took the plunge last year and exported 140t of premium quality potatoes.

It was a challenging and risky step, but worked out well for the pair with plans to expand direct sales to Holland.

It also proved to be a learning process for the fledging business, as shipping potatoes requires a great deal of trust from all parties involved and cost in gaining accredited certification.

The Maltese Gold brand has been successfully certified by Global G.A.P, an international and independent body ensuring good agricultural practices, and has also obtained a negative test for pesticide residues.

Apart from being skilled in growing potatoes, the pair are now carrying out trials in the sector.

The two growers are monitoring more than 200 different varieties of potatoes in order to test their productivity, adaptability and resilience to the Maltese climate.

Such studies are conducted hand in hand with the Dutch buyer who is on the lookout for new market needs.

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