Worldwide, 800 million people can eat, thanks to seed potatoes grown in the Netherlands. The Potato Valley, a seed potato cultivation knowledge network platform in the north of that country, recently commissioned a short film about how that is achieved. "It has beautiful scenes of these being cultivation in the Netherlands, shipped from the port of Harlingen, and people getting those potatoes in Morocco and Israel," the platform's website reads.
Every year, the Netherlands exports around 800,000 tons of seed potatoes to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Central America. There, growers can cultivate more than 30 million tons of these potatoes: feeding hundreds of millions of the world's citizens.
Footage from Morocco and Israel
The film features Moroccan and Israeli growers who receive these seed potatoes. The producers chose these two countries because of their diverse crops. "In Israel, growers cultivate potatoes in a high-tech modern way. In Morocco, times seem to have stood still compared to Dutch cultivation and production. Yet both countries swear by seed potatoes from the Netherlands."
The northern Netherlands has unique conditions
The film also shows why the northern Netherlands is so well suited for growing seed potatoes. That region's light clay soil, favorable climate, and location along the sea hinder diseases and pests, making it extremely suitable for growing healthy seed potatoes. "After being harvested, these seed potatoes find their way to many global destinations to be propagated into ware potatoes, which nourish many people," reads the website.
For more information:
The Potato Valley
1 Hooge Zuidwal
9853 TJ, Munnekezijl, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 651 112 070
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.thepotatovalley.nl