Current scenario of potato cultivation and the main challenges

By Alison Rampazzo, Hortifruti Line Portfolio Leader at Corteva Agriscience.

Potatoes are one of the most consumed foods on the planet, second only to dairy products, wheat and rice. Currently, the tuber is planted in more than 130 countries, covering around 20 million hectares, resulting in the production of more than 400 million tons of potatoes per year. In Brazil, it is estimated that there are 100 thousand hectares of the crop spread across several states in the country, generating a production of 3,8 million tons, according to IBGE/2018. Productivity has been increasing, due to more productive varieties and the use of new technologies related to irrigation, nutrition, soil preparation and the use of quality seed potatoes. The majority of this production is sold in natura, with around 25-30% destined for industrial processing, in the form of frozen pre-fried (500 thousand tons), chips and straw potatoes (250 thousand tons).

See the table below for a general context of per capita consumption in Brazil.

Source: ABBA 2020

Potatoes are a crop of great socioeconomic importance. In addition to its value as a substantially nutritious food, potato cultivation is a powerful source of job creation. In Brazil, there are around 2 thousand producers, which generate over 30 thousand direct and indirect jobs.

The potato production chain plays a very important role with a GDP of between 4-5 billion reais, up to the gate of the farmer's property. However, the challenges to reaching the consumer's table with quality are great. To achieve this, the entire production process, from choosing the seed potatoes to harvesting and washing, is critical to the success of the operation.

Traditionally, the main production paradigm for any crop has been increasing productivity per unit area. However, more recently, given the fierce competition imposed by the market globalization process, excellent quality has been the main criterion for adding value to the product. In recent years, it has been noted that many producers have left the activity, however, those who remained have implemented in-depth business management systems and followed the adoption of technological innovations, with the aim of achieving greater productivity (kg/Ha) and tuber quality. offered.

It is worth highlighting that in the current culture scenario, factors such as: seed quality, soil management, irrigation, plant health and mechanization are the highlights for improving production ceilings. On the other hand, some factors corroborate as negative for productivity gains, such as pests (pinworm larva, leafminer larva, whitefly), diseases (late blight, blackleg, common scab, fusariosis, and early blight), low genetic material quality, high labor costs, and even lack of credit.

Potato cultivation in Brazil is basically aimed at domestic consumption (domestic market), directly linked to market supply and demand. In this sense, the profitability relationship for the producer has suffered significant volatility. Based on the CEPEA survey from 2011 to 2018, the years 2017 and 2018 were marked by prices below the cost of production. Historically, producers with better management and use of technologies obtain better profitability performance.

One of the main challenges of the production system as a whole in Brazil, which includes potato production, is the economic factor that, due to the low income of a large part of the population, compromises access to the product on the market. This situation leads to a retraction in market demand and, consequently, causes disorganization in the sales flow, which is aggravated by the arrival of imported products. A greater demand from consumers for the classification of potatoes on the market in terms of culinary abilities (intrinsic quality of the cultivars) could increase the value of the national product, as well as the ways in which the product is presented on supermarket shelves, traceability, brands, etc. These are examples of what happens in other countries where consumption of percapita potatoes is higher, and which could be implemented in Brazil, benefiting everyone, from producer to consumer.