The acreage of seed potatoes in the Netherlands is at the ceiling. There is no more room for further growth. This is what Peter Berghuis, chairman of the LTO seed potatoes working group, stated during the LTO webinar on seed potatoes.
Last year, a total of 41,849 hectares of seed potatoes were declared to the NAK for field inspection. That was 180 hectares less than in harvest year 2019. “We have been fluctuating around this area for years. I do not see that we are going to 45,000 hectares, I do not see any room for that. ” The regular seed potato areas are full, said Berghuis. “You need good and healthy soil where you can get a harvestable product from the land without any risks.”
Cultivation is shifting slightly. For example, more seed potatoes have been grown in Drenthe in recent years, and the acreage in Groningen had also increased last year. In the provinces of Noord-Brabant, Overijssel and Zuid-Holland, the declaration figures for the 2020 harvest showed a decrease in the acreage.
