Edition: 02-2025

Knowledge is the raw material of the future

In the potato sector, predictability is rare. Weather, market conditions and political developments are constantly shifting. Certainty is the exception. But one thing remains constant: the need to keep learning, connecting and adapting. Now more than ever.

The 100-year-old Van der Windt family business is expanding its activities

When you say Van der Windt, you’re talking fodder potatoes, is still what they say in the potato sector. Yet this description has long ceased to cover the essence of the 100-year-old family business. The expansion of activities started some time ago and will only increase in the coming years. This is already evident from…

Flexibility

If I’m to believe the media, 2025 will be the year of AI. Half the world’s population is afraid of it, because their jobs are at stake. Everyone thinks that we’ll be doing more with fewer people. Well, it won’t be that bad, of course. The World Economic Forum predicts that 85 million jobs will…

World Potato Congress 2026 will take place in Kenya

For the second time in history, the World Potato Congress (WPC) will take place on African soil: Kenya will host the 13th edition in October/November 2026. After the withdrawal of Poland as a location, Kenya took over with enthusiasm and managed to create the conditions for a full-fledged international event within a short time.

‘Microbes determine the vitality of the potato crop in and around the tuber’

If you want to say something about the vitality of seed potatoes, you shouldn’t look at the substances, but at the micro-life in and around the tuber. At least, that’s the opinion of Roeland Berendsen, researcher at Utrecht University. Together with his colleagues, he’s developed a model that demonstrates the correlation. The next step is…

Green revolution: Potato haulm as a textile fibre

What remained for years on the potato field as useless leftover material now appears to be the key to a remarkable innovation in the fashion industry: potato haulm. The stems of the potato plant – previously simply left in the fields – are now transformed by the British materials company, Fibe, into a sustainable fibre…

PotatoEurope 2025 fully focuses on knowledge sharing, innovation and international gathering

On 3 and 4 September 2025, the Dutch town of Lelystad will host one of the most prominent events in the international potato sector, PotatoEurope: The outdoor fair, which takes place at the trial facilities of the Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Field Crops, brings together professionals from all over the world for two days…

New Potato Platform: helpful tool for the latest market data

Are you active in the potato business every day and do you sometimes spend hours searching for the latest market data? Then the new DCA Market Intelligence Potato Platform can be a helpful tool. The creators of the so-called Price Reporting Agency (PRA) have brought together in one comprehensive product as many figures and information…

Is the physiological age concept getting old?

Physiological age is an important quality feature of seed tubers. It is affected by growing conditions of the seed crop, conditions immediately after haulm killing, storage conditions of the seed tubers and handling during these phases or after storage. Cultivar effects and their interactions with environmental effects are significant. While dormant seed tubers fail to…

Another record set in 2024, but trade now under pressure

World potato trade reached record levels in 2024, but growth was a lot less spectacular than 2023 as demand and prices eased.