Venezuela: Potato seed go rotten in state silos

Earlier this year, it was reported that McDonald’s in Venezuela could neither import potatoes to make fries nor find a reliable supply domestically. The reason has recently come to light and it appears that it is not just because of currency controls. Venezuela’s National Seed Service (Senasem) has been asleep at the switch, and let 175,000 metric tons of potato seeds go rotten in state silos. When locals discovered the magnitude of waste on July 8 — in excess of all potatoes produced in 2014 — they took to social media and could hardly contain their outrage, describing it as the “official self-imposed economic war.” More