The first early potatoes in the Palatinate, Bavaria and the Lower Rhine have been planted. Until the new harvest, the farms of the Bio-Kartoffel-Erzeuger e.V., an interest group of 240 farms nationwide with organic potato and onion cultivation, can once again provide sufficient domestic produce for the food retail trade.
"In the main growing regions, we are just waiting for the right weather to prepare our soils optimally for organic potatoes. Then things can finally get started for us, too," reports Christoph Schäfer, chairman of the association's board of directors. "By the time the new season starts, we will again succeed in ensuring a year-round supply of our organic potatoes despite the many difficulties, such as the high cost of energy, the consequences of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and rising inflation. This means that we can do without ecologically questionable imports this year as well," adds his fellow board member Winfried Petzold, who himself has many years of experience in organic potato cultivation as a farm manager in Saxony.
Healthy and affordable staple food in organic quality
"In the end, everyone benefits from this: the producing farms and the packing houses strengthen long-standing supply relationships. The trade supports the development of domestic organic farming with the year-round listing of our goods and can offer consumers a healthy and affordable staple food in organic quality all year round." emphasizes Christoph Schäfer.
Looking ahead to the coming season, both farmers see the continued rise in production and storage costs as a challenge for farms. "The organic potato is a crop that requires a lot of know-how from the farmer and a high upfront financial investment on the land. In order to meet the quality requirements of the trade, we ourselves have the highest demands on our choice of location and our cultivation methods," says Winfried Petzold, describing his many years of experience with organic potatoes.
Further development of sales channels
For successful organic farming, further development of sales channels is needed at the same time. "More and more retail chains are opting for products that meet the standards of our German growers' associations. More and more marketing partners are also supporting the goal of making goods from local cultivation available to consumers all year round," says Christoph Schäfer happily. And that's what the two farmers hope for in the future, too. Because only together, across the entire value chain, can the goal of 30% organic be achieved.
Further information:
Bio Kartoffel Erzeuger e.V. 
Schwarzer Weg 3
29462 Güstritz
[email protected]
https://bke-verein.de