While repeated negotiations over the resumption of seed potato exports from the UK to the EU has made little headway, a leading civil servant told delegates there was another avenue to be explored.
As The Scotsman reports in this article, Professor Gerry Saddler, Scotland’s chief plant health officer, told Scottish Agronomy’s annual conference in Perth that an arrangement which allows limited amounts of Canadian seed potatoes into the EU could form a template for a Scottish deal.
“The Canadian concession only covers certain varieties, mostly from Prince Edward Island destined for southern EU countries,” Saddler told the conference. “But it is perhaps something we could exploit in terms of being able to resume exports to the EU and Northern Ireland.”
However, he revealed that it would be next year at the earliest before any head way was made. The alternative, he said, would be to come to an arrangement such as Switzerland had with the EU.
He suggested that the key areas to receive support might include a continuation of the Fight Against Blight programme, aphid monitoring and applications for emergency or off-label approval of pesticides.
Source: The Scotsman. Read the full story here
Photo: The Scotsman
