The 11th edition of PotatoEurope will be held today, 14 September, and tomorrow at Villers-Saint-Christophe in France, halfway between Lille and Paris. This open-field exhibition – organised by the ARVALIS - Institut du Végétal agricultural research institution with the support of the entire French potato industry – has become a worldclass business gathering.
Dynamic equipment demonstrations, the Commercial Village and an introduction to technical innovations in potato production are the highlights of this event.
An international business meeting
France is a major player in Western European potato production. As the leading exporters of storage potatoes, and highly active in the exportation of plants to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the French exhibitors represented in the "commercial village" will demonstrate their skills at PotatoEurope. And who knows... maybe 2016
will be the year when international visitors will outnumber French visitors for the first time?
44 hectares of dynamic demonstrations, conference and exhibition areas
Since its creation, PotatoEurope's reputation has been built on the dynamic demonstrations of potato harvesting and reception. This year's French edition will also stand out with its world-leading dynamic optical sorting demonstrations. A total of no fewer than 23 dynamic demonstrations, processing more than a thousand tonnes of tubers, will show off manufacturers' latest innovations in a live environment.
ARVALIS is also making plans to include 4 technical areas that will
present R&D advances: genetic resources and varietal innovations, agronomy, diagnostics and in-built protection, and storage and conservation. Conferences will be organised (sensors in agriculture, export markets). Covering an area of 44 hectares, the exhibition includes many experts and over 280 exhibitors who will show off their innovations, share their results and discuss their experiences with visitors.
Over 10,000 visitors expected
"All these demonstrations and innovations - the fruits of a sustained R&D effort - reveal French potato production as among the most efficient in Europe. This is the image we're promoting for the 2016 edition of PotatoEurope, giving a sense of pride to the producers and a point of focus for 10,000 expected visitors", says Didier Lombart, President of the ARVALIS - Institut du Végétal's Professional Potato Committee.
23 dynamic demonstrations over 23 hectares
PotatoEurope will cover an area of 44 hectares this year, 23 of which will feature dynamic demonstrations. The 3 optical potato sorting demonstrations are the only demonstrations of their kind at a public event anywhere in the world. They will be joined by 15 harvesting
demonstrations and 5 grading lines.
Experience the actual processing quality of equipment under real-life conditions
Dynamic demonstrations are the cornerstone of PotatoEurope... and are set to play an even more significant role this year. They will now be conducted on 23 irrigated hectares of the Magnum variety, with three main sections: harvesting, reception/storage and optical sorting. A total of 23 demonstrations have now been confirmed: 15 harvesters (AVR, Dewulf, Grimme, Pouchain, Ploeger and Ropa), 3 optical sorting areas for washed potatoes (Dewulf-Miedena, Tomra and Visar Sorting) and 5 receiving areas (Downs- AVS, Eurodirect-Dewaele Briche, Dewulf-Miedena, Grimme and AVR).
Increasing the area made available for harvesting naturally maximises visitors' options for observing and appreciating the demonstrations, giving them more time to make comparisons and allowing them to choose their future investments.
The harvesting demonstrations will be arranged in three groups, letting visitors focus their attention on their own particular area of interest. Group 1 will feature self-propelled three and four-row harvesters. Group 2 is devoted to two-row towed and self-propelled harvesters. Lastly, Group 3 will feature only towed one or two-row combined models. We have taken the decision for groups to visit the demonstrations one at a time, allowing visitors to schedule their visit and see as much
different equipment at work as possible.
Final schedules will be posted on the www.potatoeurope.com website.
The optical potato sorting demonstrations are the only demonstrations of their kind at a public event anywhere in the world. They have been a speciality of the French edition of PotatoEurope since 2008. They are the best way for visitors to assess the various advantages of the different equipment and obtain a clearer idea of how well it meets their specific needs. The receiving and optical sorting demonstrations will run from 10am to 12pm and from 2pm to 5pm.