The case of potatoes
It is estimated that without glyphosate, production of potatoes in the EU could decline by up to 10.4 million tons.
At EU level, phasing out glyphosate in potato production would translate into an increase of costs for the sector up to EUR 2 billion, resulting from both reduced agricultural output (and therefore revenue) and higher production costs.
Eurostat data show that the cultivated area of potatoes in the EU has been in long-term decline and it almost halved between 2000 and 2018. In parallel, potato harvest in the EU has declined by more than one third over the same period. In the case of potatoes, it appears therefore important to make sure EU producers are equipped with all the tools that can deliver high productivity and fair revenues, to counter the general crop’s downward trends.
References
- “Socio-economic value of glyphosate: A review of EU studies assessing the value of glyphosate to the agriculture industry”; L. Garcia-Perez, Harriet Illman, S. Wynn; 13 May 2020
- Eurostat, “The EU potato sector - statistics on production, prices and trade”