The 11th World Potato Congress (WPC) in Ireland concluded with 30 delegates from around the world visiting Wilson’s Country in Co Armagh. The event allowed the very welcome guests to see firsthand how Ireland’s largest potato packing and processing operation is managed.

According to Wilson’s Country Limited’s chairman and CEO, Angus Wilson, the visit provided a tremendous networking opportunity.

“This is the first time that Ireland has hosted a WPC. The global reach of potatoes continues to expand. New technologies are fast impacting the sector. Wilsons’s Country wants to be at the very heart of these developments. The opportunity of meeting and interacting with so many people with real influence across so many aspects of potato breeding, production, and processing was one that we could not turn down. In turn, I hope the visit to Co Armagh provided the delegates with a learning opportunity, which they can avail of in their own right for the future,” Wilson said.

The company’s CEO added that the new product development is a key focus for the business. In addition, the company’s management works closely with its growers to ensure that they have access to the latest agronomic advice they need to maximize crop yield and quality most sustainably.

Reflecting on the debates that took place throughout the three days of WPC’s formal proceedings, the Wilson’s Country CEO highlighted the growing consumer awareness of potatoes as a complete food.

“It’s now recognized that potatoes can help take many emerging countries around the world out of hunger. I particularly welcome the declaration agreed upon unanimously at the end of congress, calling on the United Nations to commit to an annual World Potato Day. The potato is a uniquely valuable source of nutrition for people of all ages. And I feel it would be wholly appropriate for the United Nations to officially recognize this fundamental fact at this time,” Angus Wilson mentioned.

He established his potato operation on the family dairy farm at Richhill back in 1986. At that time, it was very much a case of developing an additional income stream for the farm.

“But from the very outset, the driving priority for the business was that of providing consumers with high-quality local potatoes,” he added.

Thirty-six years later, these priorities remain the same. However, the business now employs 130 people, between full and part-time, and processes 850 tons of potatoes per week. Wilson’s Country currently supplies a selection of the largest supermarket groups throughout the UK and Ireland. The company is currently investing GBP1m, each year, in new technologies that are allowing it to avail of new processing and storage systems.

The World Potato Congress functions to promote sharing of information on all aspects of the potato industry. Delegates represent industry sectors in both developed countries and countries with developing potato industries.