Ireland’s seed potato sector looks set to get a Brexit shot in the arm. This was one of the key messages delivered courtesy of the second Spring Tillage Webinar, hosted by Teagasc last week, writes Richard Halleron in an article published by AgriLand.
Driving this development will be the fact that Scottish seed can no longer be brought on to the island of Ireland, as a result of post-Brexit phytosanitary regulations imposed by Brussels.
While many ware growers imported this year’s seed before the end of 2020, it is now widely acknowledged that, in future, Irish producers will be reliant on home-produced seed to meet their needs.
Potato industry representatives are now urging ware and seed growers to come together in a co-ordinated manner in order to ensure that the overall production needs of the Irish potato industry are met in the most efficient way possible.
Significantly, it seems that the option of Irish ware growers sourcing seed from mainland Europe is not a runner, because of the disease risks associated with this practise.
Source: AgriLand. Full article here
