Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has announced that €450,000 of Department of Agriculture funding will be made available to get 500t of seed potatoes to small farmers in Ukraine.

The project aims to deliver 50kg of seed potatoes to 10,000 “highly vulnerable smallholder farmers” along the front line between Ukraine and Russia.

Farmers there have experienced serious supply chain difficulties, with the import of certified seed potatoes into Ukraine severely curtailed as a result.

Irish company

The seed potatoes were grown in France and the Netherlands by Irish company IPM Potato Ltd.

It is is being administered by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Minister McConalogue said that the seed potato supports follow on from previous funding allocations made by the Department last year.

“Ireland and Ukraine share many similarities, particularly the huge importance of agriculture has both economical and socially,” the Minister stated.

“I am delighted that my Department’s international co-operation funding can support this project to support small-holder farmers in potato production, complementing the supports for smallholder poultry production in Ukraine funded by the Government and my Department last year.”

Feeding thousands

The crop that the seed potatoes will yield will feed up to 50,000 families, Minister McConalogue continued.

“In addition to saving 10% of the harvest as seed potatoes for the next season, this volume of quality seed potatoes has the potential to produce up to 7,000 tonnes of ware potatoes,” he said.

“This FAO project will support efforts to build back agricultural capacity and to assist rural families to resume production for their own household consumption and, in doing so, to meet their immediate food needs."

Ukraine is in the top five potato growers in the world and most of its production is small-holder farmer-based.