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MARKETING potatoes as a healthy carbohydrate will form part of an ambitious plan to safeguard the future of the UK's potato industry.
Potato farmers from Yorkshire and the rest of the country are calling for the potato to be referred to as a "supercarb", providing a rich source of carbohydrates and vitamins.
The marketing strategy, set out at a major event in Harrogate this week, is designed to sustain demand for the potato in an ever broadening food market and forms part of a wider plan to keep the industry strong.
The British Potato 2009 event, which took place at the Harrogate Event Centre on Wednesday and Thursday, attracted more than 5,000 people from across the potato farming industry and was used by Potato Council and the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board to set out the vegetable's future.
As well as marketing the health benefits the industry wants to: improve competitiveness by better crop and business management; leverage the importance of the potato; exploit high value seed markets and to act as the industry voice to meet and manage environmental and regulatory requirements and help raise the skill base.
Allan Stevenson, chairman of the Potato Council, said the plan would take into account the changing needs of the potato sector.
He said: "Potatoes are not easy to grow and face a seemingly endless barrage of disease threats, storage challenges and market opportunities and threats. On the crop production side the industry's needs are driven by plant health, regulation, energy saving, soil, water and pesticide use. Marketing activities will continue to focus on the benefits of potatoes over carbohydrate alternatives and particularly on encouraging younger people to recognise those benefits.
"Feedback from levy payers suggested that having regular small annual levy increases was the preferable approach."
The plan reflects the decision of the Potato Council board to implement a planned increase in the levy, which was reported in the 2009 corporate plan. The proposed increase stated in the plan of just three per cent a year for three years is the first since 2001 and is needed to ensure that the wide-ranging needs of the industry are met.
Matt Spanton, one of the farmers leading the campaign to set out health benefits of the potato, said: "The potato's rich carbohydrate content often overshadows its vegetable status. Potatoes are undoubtedly a 'supercarb'; they are packed full of energy, vitamins and minerals, fibre and of course are naturally fat free."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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