Union Nationale des Producteurs de Pommes de Terre (UNPT) and Association Sanitaire de la Pomme de Terre (ASPDT) officials recently announced that the French spud growers should declare their potato areas before June 30, 2022, to cover themselves against the damage of quarantine diseases and pests.

“With the importation of foreign plants, exchanges, custom work, digging up, etc., the health risk in potato production exists. In 2019, two cases resulted in damage of approximately EUR120,000, compensated by the FMSE and the ASPDT, a very significant amount for the potato producers concerned. The UNPT campaigns to maintain a healthy production area free from quarantine diseases and/or pests and therefore encourages producers to declare their potato plots to the ASPDT. Simple systems have been put in place by the sector to allow compensation for any damage,” the press release shows.

According to the organizations’ experts, two operations must be carried out by the producers to be covered in the event of illness or a proven quarantine parasite, and thus benefit from compensation for the damage: – to declare to the ASPDT all of the potato areas (excluding production of certified plants) before June 30, 2022; – to contribute to the production of potatoes marketed according to different methods according to the marketing channels.

“For sectors such as starch, the French processing industry through producer groups (such as Gappi), or in the case of certain producer groups in the French fresh sector, contributions are already covered,” the officials mentioned.

As this program is co-financed by public funds, and the PAC declaration is authentic, each farmer declaring potatoes to the PAC must be the one who completes the FMSE declaration of areas form.

Constant Prophylaxis

Respect for crop rotation, cleaning of equipment, non-recovery of the land from the buyer (trader or industrialist), choice of variety, management of regrowth, etc., there are many levers to limit parasitic pressure on crops and guard against possible health problems.

Producers and the entire sector are therefore invited to consult the brochure entitled “Potatoes – Prophylaxis, effective techniques for reducing the risks of pests”. Produced by ARVALIS – Plant Institute, it details and evaluates the prophylactic measures that can be used in potatoes, developed thanks to the work carried out by the institute and the bibliography. These measures have their place in the implementation of integrated protection against diseases and pests.

“Through their professionalism, potato producers demonstrate that they are responding to health issues. Preserving the good sanitary state of the territory means preserving our farms, working sustainably, and allowing the development of potato production in response to market needs. It is therefore working for a sustainable future!” the organization’s representatives concluded.