No-nonsense, no-frills news stories from around the world
Three Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs have written to the UK Government and the EU Vice-President urging both sides to remove Brexit-induced barriers regarding the export of Scottish seed potatoes to the European Union. They represent constituencies containing significant farming communities and have echoed the concerns of their constituents and NFU Scotland over the continuing obstacles farmers face in exporting seed potatoes because of Brexit.
Canadian potato company Québec Parmentier announced the acquisition of Ferme G. G. & A. Montminy, a renowned and large-scale seed potato producer located in the Péribonka region of Quebec. Being located in a ‘Protected Cultivation Zone’ gives it an undeniable advantage in terms of the quality of the seed potatoes produced. Pierre Chouinard, Chief Executive Officer of Québec Parmentier says the announcement marks a turning point in the history of Québec Parmentier.
When we hear the term ‘cellular agriculture’ these days, our minds typically wander to the production of cultivated meat and dairy. But similar techniques also have a part to play in growing fruits, vegetables, and other crops, writes Jack Ellis in an article published by AgFunder Network news. Ellis writes that South Korea’s E Green Global is starting out by creating potato seedlings from tissue cultures in the lab, and hopes to replicate the method with other crops in the near future.
echnico Agri Sciences Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC Limited, is now a Great Place to Work-Certified company by the Great Place to Work Institute. The Certification is recognized around the world by employees and employers alike and is considered the ‘Gold Standard’ in identifying and recognizing Great Workplace Cultures.
According to a press release issued by USDA, the Government of the United Kingdom has asked USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to authorize the importation of potato mini tubers into the United States and Territories. APHIS has drafted a pest risk assessment that describes potential pests associated with the commodity.
The area of seed potato crops for certification in Ireland increased to 299 hectares in 2021, helping to fill a gap left by a Brexit ban on imports from non-EU countries. This was a 29% increase in Irish seed potato production, over the previous five years, as Stephen Cadogan reports for the Irish Examiner.
MP Richard Thomson, representing the constituency of Gordon in the House of Commons, has again pressed the UK Government on the export of Scottish seed potatoes – currently banned – to Northern Ireland and the EU. The SNP MP was speaking in a debate in Westminster Hall yesterday (Wednesday) where he raised the matter. “Europe needs our Scottish seed potatoes,” he said.
Farmers in Britain have warned they face increasing pressure from restrictions imposed by Brexit on trade of seed potatoes. Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin and Gordon MP Richard Thomson met with seed potato farmer John Lind and NFUS Vice-President Andrew Connon, to discuss the issues being faced by the sector. They expressed concern about how long the ban may be in place.
Revenues fell by 8 per cent to €26.1 million at Donegal Investment Group last year as COVID restrictions hit demand for seed potatoes. Chairman Geoffrey Vance said the board was pleased with the performance of the seed potato business in a very challenging trading environment. He said the group was “cautiously optimistic” about the trading performance of the seed potato business for the 2021/22 season.
Europatat is calling on EU and UK policy makers to break the deadlock and to reach an agreement on the resumption in the bilateral trade of seed potatoes. “It is especially important that this is done soon, so as to avoid the possibility of regulatory divergence emerging between the EU and UK markets, further hindering the opportunities for mutually beneficial bilateral trade,” Europatat says.
Advanced crop technology company E Green Global Co. Ltd. (EGG) announced this week that it has raised $15M additional equity funding from ADB Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). EGG uses patented tissue culture technology to mass produce and continually harvest disease-free microtubers throughout the year in bio-secured plant factories.
Fera Science Ltd in the UK announced that following consultation with existing customers and stakeholders, they are pleased to confirm that Fera will be providing its industry-critical aphid monitoring programme for the 2022 season, utilising the same reporting and alert platform as previous years. Fera has been working with AHDB to coordinate a smooth transition into the forthcoming season.
The revocation of registration granted to the global food giant Pepsico by India’s Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights’ Authority (PPV&FRA) further muddies an already unclear picture for the seed and bio-technology innovation sector in India, writes senior journalist R Srinivasan in an article for The Hindu’s Business Line.
Farmers have warned they face increasing pressure from restrictions imposed by Brexit on trade of seed potatoes. Aberdeenshire East MSP and Gordon MP Richard Thomson met with seed potato farmer John Lind and NFUS (National Farmers Union Scotland) chairman of the north-east region Andrew Connon, to discuss the issues being faced by the sector.
Speaking at BP2021, Eric Anderson, of Scottish Agronomy, warned growers in the Scottish seed potato sector about the challenges presented in 2021 – emphasising that minimising the handling and damage of the seed in grading pre-treatment is always important.
The ground-breaking organisation first set up by Scottish seed potato growers in the 1970s to encourage the best use of cutting edge seed multiplication technology will celebrate its 50th anniversary. The Pre Basic Growers Association, formerly the Virus Tested Stem Cutting Growers Association, is to mark the anniversary with a gala dinner.
Irish farmers’ ability to grow their potato crops could be affected by the post-Brexit ban on importing seed potatoes from Britain, the Government has been warned. In a letter to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, Scottish seed potato producer John K Lind asked if politicians have “forgotten” the Famine as he outlined the devastation that diseases can cause to a crop.
The National Potato Council (NPC) and grower organizations throughout the United States today welcomed the announcement by Canada’s Acting Chief Plant Health Officer, David Bailey, to prevent the spread of potato wart from Prince Edward Island (PEI) by restricting the movement of PEI potatoes to other Canadian provinces and the U.S.
In a press release issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) today, the agency says the CFIA Charlottetown Laboratory confirmed the presence of potato wart on two different PEI farms on October 1 and 14, 2021. The two detections showed high levels of potato wart, and made it necessary to take Canada’s strongest action against potato wart to date, CFIA says in the press release.
The University of Idaho is close to opening a new Seed Potato Germplasm Laboratory, which is the place where most Idaho potatoes are “born.” “This is a really top-end facility,” said Doug Gross, who grows potatoes for the processing industry near Wilder. “It’s important for Idaho as the number one potato and seed potato producing state to have a world-class facility that we bring our seed through.”
The U.S. border has closed to Prince Edward Island seed potatoes after potato wart was again found in two P.E.I. fields, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed late Friday. As Sara Fraser reports for CBC News, the CFIA confirmed potato wart in fields on two separate farms on Oct. 1 and Oct. 14 after growers submitted “suspect potatoes,” the agency said in an email response to a CBC inquiry.
The Potato Days of HZPC are dedicated to the future of the potato. A future in which the potato provides an important contribution to the food security in the world and helps to combat climate change. HZPC wants to join this challenge by using more sustainable potato varieties and hybrid potato breeding.
Potato growers in Northern Ireland face a “severe shortage of seed potatoes” in 2022, according to TUV leader, Jim Allister. As Joanne Knox reports for Farming Life, the politician said ‘absurd EU law and sleepwalking MLAs’ are to blame for the ban on imports to the province from Great Britain.
