Organic farmers have been affected by the late blight Phytophthora. The harvest can be reduced to a quarter of the normal yield due to the disease. The trade association of organic farmers Bionext sounds the alarm.
The disease, which also hit potato farmers in 2016, thrives in this year’s warm, wet summer. Phytophthora (pronounced fie-tof-tor-a) is a fungus that affects the potato plant. If farmers find the fungus, they should burn the plants to prevent it from spreading.
One of the farmers affected is Annewillem Maris in Dinteloord in West Brabant. He fears that he will miss about 30,000 kilos of potatoes this season due to the fungal disease. “Yeah, that’s a lot of money.”
At the moment 15 percent of his potato production still comes from old varieties, which are very susceptible to phytophthora. “In a few years we will have 100 percent new varieties,” he tells the NOS. “They can cope with this fungus. Then something else will come, but we’ll see.”
Maybe strop
According to Bionext director Michaël Wilde, switching to potato varieties that are resistant is made more difficult because farmers are not sure about sales. “You cannot assume that consumers will suddenly buy organic potatoes.”
The trade association wants the demand for organic potatoes to be stimulated through better communication about the benefits of organic products. “Dutch consumers mainly see organic products as more expensive. But if they understand that organic potatoes are better for the soil, nature and the environment, then they are probably willing to pay more.”
It is clear that the much-dreaded disease is the talk of the day among Maris’s colleagues. “Of course. The colleagues where the fungal disease struck early are especially affected. They have potatoes that are not fully grown and are so small that you can’t put them in a bag for the supermarket. That is a big no-no.”
Of the more than 9,500 potato growers in the Netherlands, 262 work organically. In total, these organic farmers grow more than 70,000 tons of potatoes. According to the RIVM, the Dutch eat potatoes on average 3.5 days a week; about 26 kilograms per year.
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