The goal of the project was to develop potato farming and to found a potato refinery in the Republic of Karelia for industrial potato production. In addition, the ultimate intention was to establish a high-quality, flexible supply chain responsible for potato production, refining and marketing in Russian Karelia. However, reaching this objective was seen as requiring a lot of information. The information gathered earlier was fragmented, pertained mainly to the regional administrative level of Russia, and was at least partially outdated. For this reason, the project’s short-term goal was to assess the farmer network and complete an interview survey of farmers. The interviews were to be used for assessing the current potato production of the Republic of Karelia (quality, amount and utilisation level) and the level of training needed by the farmers and the rest of the production chain. Similarly, it was seen necessary to assess the areas suitable for farming, their ownership structures, zoning issues, environmental issues and issues regarding social structure, infrastructure and market structure that were significant to potato farming. The intention was to design training for the potato farmers and the production chain in the future and to begin construction of a production facility based on the research. Achievements: A survey study was completed during the project. The survey assessed, for example, the condition of potato farming and production, the size and distance from Petrozavodsk as well as the willingness of farmers to develop potato farming and refining. The available education and interest in training cooperation with the Merikoski Vocational Training Centre was assessed together with officials and the Sortavala Agricultural School. Nearly all of the issues being researched were clarified through the surveys; however, the network of 12 farms that participated in the project was too small a research sample on which to base reliable decisions regarding establishing a production facility or beginning training for farmers. If the project personnel had had the chance to complete the survey study themselves, the survey would have been completed at farm level. Instead, the survey of 12 farms was completed by officials from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture. In addition, permission to take soil samples was not granted. Both the farmers in the region and the highest level of management of the Republic of Karelia were very interested in developing potato farming in the area, but the activity level and willingness of the officials were seen as problematic. Originally the goal was to apply for a follow-up project for implementing training activities and building a production facility, but because of the insufficient information obtained, a new research project would be necessary before the production facility could be built. Continuing the cooperation was seen as necessary in order to establish trust. The project was not fully implemented as planned; however, it did produce information that could be used for other purposes and it was seen as being a valuable promoter of internationalisation. At the very least, the Raisio Group has benefi ted from the information obtained through the project, and the Group has in fact expanded its margarine and fodder operations to the East.