In 2017 the Irish Potato Federation submitted a bid to the World Potato Congress to hold the World Potato Congress in Ireland in 2021. The bid was supported by Bord Bia, DAFM, Teagasc and the potato industry. The bid was successful and early planning has now commenced for the event which will be held in the RDS in May 2021. In March the winning bid was announced at the RDS by the Minister of State Andrew Doyle TD. Also in attendance were Romain Cools from Belgium who is president of the World Potato Congress, Liam Glennon the Ireland Congress Committee’s chairman, and Michael Hoey who is the president of the Irish Potato Federation. It is envisaged that 1,000 delegates, from developing and developed countries across the globe, including growers, researchers, producers, traders, processors and manufacturers, will attend the congress. The Irish Potato Federation has also secured the simultaneous hosting of the Europatat Congress, which is the annual congress of the European Association of the potato trade. Both events will become a week-long focus on the potato, the third most important food crop in terms of global consumption. See also Lorcan Burke’s review in the Edibles section on The World Potato Congress, which was held in Peru recently. ✽
