Potatoes may be an iconic Irish product, but the sector is a shadow of its former self.
Consumption per head in Ireland is less than half what it was as recently as the early 1960s.
The once thriving seed industry, largely based in Donegal, has long ago migrated elsewhere, mainly to Scotland. Despite the existence of blight-free varieties that would abolish the need for frequent spraying, because of the ban on GM-produced crops, they cannot be grown.
At this stage, we import 80,000 tonnes of potatoes every year - mainly for chips. Last week I sat in on a discussion that promised a possible different future for the Irish potato sector.
The first change has been the new rules on seed potatoes following Brexit.
Scotland
Scotland has no longer free access to the European market for seed potatoes grown there. Can Irish growers step into the breach and produce most of the 12,000 tonnes needed annually?
And with most of Irish potato imports coming from the UK, can there be new opportunities for domestic chip production?
The Teagasc tillage base at Oakpark in Carlow has an outstanding history of potato breeding (and it should be said in clover and grass as well).
There are now prospects for a sped-up breeding programme, but while scab and pest resistant varieties are in prospect, the current examination by the EU Commission of the desirability of the gene-editing techniques should be expedited so that genuine blight-free varieties can be grown here.
This would not only give economic benefits to growers, but also significant environmental benefits through hugely reduced spraying programmes.
Given that our present Minister for Agriculture is from Donegal, I presume he will have more than a passing interest in seeing a revival in the industry.
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