A procedure known as ‘dynamic realignment’ could help secure seed potato supplies for Irish maincrop growers, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
The process would centre on a bespoke phytosanitary / biosecurity-related agreement being arrived at between London and Brussels, one which would be reviewed on a regular basis.
The end result would be the greater access for seed potatoes, produced in Scotland, onto the Irish market.
The issued was discussed at the recent national potato committee meeting, hosted by the IFA.
Seed potato supply
Prior to Brexit, 60% of the seed potatoes grown in Ireland were sourced from Scotland.
IFA Potato Committee chair, Sean Ryan, believes that the principle of reaching a dynamic-realignment has potential.
“But, Brussels and London would have to secure the deal as a matter of priority,” he told the meeting.
“If the issue is allowed to run through until later in the year, seed growers in Scotland will have already made their cropping plans for 2024.”
Meanwhile, the acreage of bespoke seed potatoes grown in Ireland is on the rise.
Figures made available by the IFA at this week’s grower meeting point to an increase in the area dedicated to seed potato production.
For 2021, the figure stood at 167ha, increasing to 264ha last year. The view was expressed at the meeting that the 2023 figure would well have been higher had it not been for the atrocious weather that impacted across the entire potato sector.
Potato sector
According to IFA representatives, one key impediment to the faster expansion of the Irish seed potato sector is the poor differential in margin currently available to producers, relative to those that can be secured from main crop enterprises.
Growers in attendance at the meeting indicated that there would be sufficient seed in the country to meet 2024 main crop requirements.
However, this might not be the case in 2025, hence the significance of getting easier access to seed produced in Scotland.
The impact of the recently launched National Horticulture Plan for the potato sector was also discussed at the IFA meeting.
Key gains already identified include additional government support for the Irish seed sector, a programme to reduce Ireland’s reliance on imported chipping potatoes and the firmly established target of increasing the marketable yield of Irish potatoes.
But, by far, the most important facet of the strategy, is the commitment by the government, working in tandem with the sector, to establish a written charter.