OPINION: Potato hot issue: How farmers can be supported to tap into global market

There has been an ongoing debate on potatoes following KFC's revelation that they were facing a shortage of the same. The big question is why the resistance? This is attributed to the stringent quality assurance and regulatory requirements that many local suppliers and farmers are yet to comply with. 

Agriculture being the backbone of the economy, our main export commodities are agriculture-based products. However, most of these countries and multinationals especially the European Union (EU) require total compliance with the food quality assurance standards. Access to these prime export markets depends on our capability to continually produce and supply high-quality agricultural products to meet their standards.