News on Potato Cultivation

Potato Business School completed its June 15–18 international training course, giving participants practical experience across the potato value chain through presentations, company visits and hands-on sessions.

The invasive serpentine leafminer has been detected in Tasmania for the first time after being found at a commercial grower in the state's north-west. The pest attacks more than 200 plant species, including potatoes, and can reduce crop yields.

Kettle Brand’s Tater Tracker™ lets consumers trace potatoes to the farm where they were grown. By entering a code on the bag, users can meet the farmers and explore regenerative practices, including cover crops and pollinator habitats in action.

Ohalo and Allied Potato form a strategic partnership to advance Boosted potato breeding, combining Ohalo Boosted Breeding platform with Allied Potato expertise to develop higher-yield disease-resistant potatoes and explore potato seed systems.

GB Potatoes and Branston will host a low-carbon farming event in Lincolnshire on 28 July, while GB Potatoes joins Defra’s Expert Growers Group. The industry also awaits updates on UK-EU seed potato trade and the new Farming Roadmap.

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq hosted the Potato Field Day event, organized by Beirut Erbil Company and Nahar Al-Awraad Company. The event highlighted sustainable potato cultivation, seed potato innovation, potato processing and food security.

Potato Demo Day 2026 has opened visitor registration for its September event in Westmaas. The programme includes more than 120 exhibitors, 25 knowledge sessions, machinery demonstrations, a Startup Plaza and activities covering the potato value chain

East African potato farmers face rising costs from late blight. Through the Crop Trust's BOLD project, breeders and farmers are testing potatoes with wild resistance traits to cut spraying, lower costs and improve food security in Kenya and Uganda.

El gobierno de Perú aprobó ley para promover la industrialización de la papa, agregando valor al cultivo mediante derivados, financiamiento, asistencia técnica, sostenibilidad y apertura de nuevos mercados nacionales e internacionales.

Europatat welcomes the EU’s adoption of the NGT Regulation, opening new opportunities for innovative potato varieties with improved disease resistance, climate adaptability, and processing traits, while boosting breeding research and investment.

NOAA has confirmed El Niño, expected to strengthen through 2026–27. The global potato industry is monitoring impacts on yields, disease pressure, processing quality, storage, and supply chains while accelerating climate resilience efforts.

DKHV has launched the first module of its Potato Specialist training program in Hermannsburg, bringing together industry professionals for practical and classroom-based training on potato cultivation, crop protection, field assessment and breeding.

Entre el 1.º y el 5 de junio de 2026, el aumento de la oferta de papa de la zafra seca presionó a la baja los precios mayoristas en Belo Horizonte y São Paulo, mientras Río de Janeiro se mantuvo estable.

La Asociación Churacan de Huánuco concretó su primera venta directa de más de seis toneladas de papa amarilla Tumbay a Inkacrop, con apoyo de MIDAGRI y Agromercado, abriendo un nuevo canal formal para pequeños productores familiares.

Del 22 al 24 de junio de 2026 en el Auditorio del Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA), se realizará el V Congreso Nacional de la Papa.

World Potato Congress Inc. will host a June 18 webinar previewing the 13th World Potato Congress in Kenya. The session will highlight the Congress program, field days, technical tours and key industry initiatives ahead of the October event.

Modern potatoes are bred from a relatively narrow genetic pool, while the diseases and environmental pressures affecting potato production continue to evolve.

On May 30, the International Day of the Potato was celebrated worldwide, highlighting the potato’s role in food security, sustainability, economic development and culinary diversity beyond its importance as a staple food.