In November 2020, the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture’s National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA) granted official variety registration to three U.S. varieties: Atlantic, Cal White, and Chieftain. Morocco, which imports approximately 45,000 tonnes of seed potatoes annually from the European Union, has a variety registration system. All potato varieties grown on a commercial scale have to be registered with the government variety registration system managed by ONSSA.
Potatoes USA and the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Rabat Morocco were key in getting the seed potato samples to ONSSA in a timely fashion. FAS works with Moroccan importers in getting samples through customs. In the future, private importers will manage seed shipments.
The registration was based on successful variety trials in 2019 and 2020. ONSSA plants variety samples in eight different locations over a two-year time frame to evaluate the varieties. The seed potato samples were exported from Allied Potato (CO), Zuckerman Family Farms (CA), and Dick Bedlington Farms (WA). Morocco with these varieties could take place as early as the end of 2021.
