Italy: Potatoes, a year “in the trenches” against climate change

Published 2024년 10월 30일

Tridge summary

Despite challenges such as adverse weather conditions and a wireworm infestation, which led to the loss of 11,000 hectares of seed potatoes in Europe, Italian potato farmers have managed to maintain their potato cultivation areas at around 47,000 hectares for 2024. This resilience is commendable, given the widespread lack of propagation material due to flooding and reduced investments. The resultant harvest was distributed across two seasons, with varying yields and prices. The south of Italy saw lower yields but higher prices, while the north experienced more varied outcomes due to climatic conditions. An integrated defense strategy against wireworms, including careful agronomic practices and long rotations, is being used to mitigate their impact.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Unapa's update on the 2024 campaign. Good production despite adverse weather conditions and wireworms The good performance of the last potato marketing campaign had generated renewed optimism among Italian farmers. As is well known, in fact, Italy depends entirely on seed tuber imports, but the flooding that hit central and northern Europe, combined with the spread of viruses and the drastic reduction in investments, have led to a very limited availability of propagation material. Despite this scenario, in Italy the areas cultivated with potatoes have maintained their historic hectares. This represents a positive and stabilizing aspect in terms of national needs. The picture is drawn by Unapa (National Union of Potato Producers' Associations), which confirms that for this year the Italian cultivated area has remained substantially in line with previous years - approximately 47,000 hectares - despite the fact that Italian farmers - like their European colleagues - have had to face ...

Source: Terraevita