Earlier this week, the Belgian and French organic potato sectors signed the new ‘Covenant on robust organic potatoes 2023 – 2026‘. That happened at the international Potato Europe trade show in Belgium in the presence of that country’s federal agriculture minister, David Clarinval.
It is the first time France is also signing such a deal, according to a report by FreshPlaza.
The first Belgian agreement began in 2018 and ended in 2021. “It’s basically the Belgian-French covenant that’s now been signed, but we are increasingly coming together. It was signed in the Netherlands in 2017, Flanders in 2018, and Wallonia in 2019, says Loes Mertens on behalf of Biowallonia.
“Flanders and Wallonia decided to join forces for the second deal. And the French joined. The Dutch signed their second covenant last November, which was too early for us.”
According to Loes, this partnership with France offers even more opportunities. “The great thing is that we’re involving more French players. So, this Belgian-French covenant’s added value is that there are more robust varieties that are, as yet, unknown in the Netherlands. We already have 35 on the list in Belgium; that’s quite a lot.”
The covenant, which runs until 2026, aims to increase the percentage of robust varieties, both in the field and in distribution.
Source: FreshPlaza. Full story here
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