A newly inaugurated  Irish potato processing plant in Musanze District will not only add value to irish potatoes  but will also offer employment to many people especially the youth, the Minister for Trade and Industry Francois Kanimba has said.

Kanimba was speaking last Friday while officially opening the factory in Gacaca sector, Musanze.

The factory, known as Winnaz, is co-owned by a Dutch company ‘Hollanda Fair Foods Limited and a Rwandan investor – Pascal Murasira.

It has the capacity to process two tonnes of selected Irish potatoes into crisps but owners say the production will increase eight fold in the next season.

Over Rwf400 million was invested to set up the factory and plans are underway to invest Rwf1 billion by the end of 2017, according to Murasira, the factory director and co-owner.

Kanimba added that it was a good idea to set up the factory in the area where Irish potatoes are mostly grown.

‘‘The factory will help farmers learn how to improve on the quality of their products,’’ he said.

According to the minister, the market problem has been addressed as the factory adds value to Irish by making crisps.

"This is a good initiative which will help us expand both domestical and external markets.

‘‘These are products we can export to neighbouring countries,” Kanimba said.

He hailed the investors for constructing the factory.

According to Murasira, the factory seeks to add value to the crop and reduce the import of products from the crop.

 "We are planning to introduce different flavors before end of the year. In the long run, we will also explore possibilities of venturing into other value chains,” he said.

He said they are working with Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) and International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) to help farmers produce quality products which will meet the factory demand.

Issac Nzabarinda, a farmer, said though the production is still relatively low there is hope that the new factory will encourage competition among farmers.

"The factory is buying Irish potatoes from us. We are optimistic we will sell more potatoes in the near future as the factory expands.  This factory is an answer to the market shortage problem we had,” said Nzabarinda.

The factory which has been operational for three past months, currently employs 36 permanent employees.