The potato sector is launching the SaniCoup sanitary approval. This new system aims to structure and secure the practice of cutting plants (in full development) to limit the risks of spreading quarantine organisms. It also enables growers to benefit from compensation in the event of contamination.
© UNPT Signature of the agreement between Geoffroy d'Evry, president of UNPT & ASPDT, and Sylvain Ducroquet, president of Coupeurs de France / © UNPT
As sanitary requirements within the potato sector become more stringent, the National Union of French Potato Producers (UNPT), as manager of ASPDT-FMSE (Sanitary Association for Potatoes), and the Coupeurs de France Federation are launching SaniCoup.
An increasingly widespread practice
The tight supply of certified seed potatoes for the 2024 season has led many growers to resort to the technique of cutting seed potatoes. The quality of seedlings is quite good, according to UNPT, and the availability of seedlings is no longer a problem this year. But the practice has been gaining ground, since "certain varieties lend themselves well to it and the price of plants has risen sharply in recent years."
SaniCoup: Strict specifications to guarantee growers' safety
The SaniCoup scheme is based on strict specifications defining the health conditions applicable to the cutting of seed potatoes. This approval is aimed at any natural or legal person wishing to operate as an "approved seed potato cutter." It is designed to guarantee compliance with current health directives, particularly with regard to European regulations and obligations linked to preventing the spread of harmful organisms in potatoes that are subject to compulsory control (ring rot, brown rot, gall nematodes [globodera pallida & rostochiensis] and cyst nematodes [meloidogyne chitwoodi & fallax]).
Compensation now available for contamination
While the practice of trimming remains fairly marginal in France (it has historically been widely used in the Netherlands and Belgium), the democratization of the process last year forced the sector to take action. "There was some uncertainty last year about cases of uncontrolled cutting, and the fact that health procedures were a little too light," explains UNPT. SaniCoup approval (whose control is delegated to OCCACIA) therefore provides an additional guarantee for producers in terms of health safety.
Until now, certified cut plants were not eligible for compensation from ASPDT-FMSE, a compensation fund set up under an agreement signed with the French government, if a quarantine pest was detected on a plot where these plants had been used. From now on, thanks to SaniCoup approval, producers will be able to benefit from sanitary coverage and be eligible for compensation from ASPDT-FMSE in the event of contamination, subject to compliance with the specifications (declaration of surface area by June 30th…).
UNPT points out that compensation awarded by ASPDT-FMSE in the event of contamination by quarantine diseases can amount to several hundred thousand euros per farm affected.
Creation of the Coupeurs de France Federation in 2024
This historic recourse to the cutting of seedlings last year helped to ensure the supply of the market. But above all, it gave rise to the need to organize a practice that was insufficiently supervised. At the end of last year, this led to the creation of the Coupeurs de France Federation, bringing together 3 French plant suppliers: ETA Dauchez in Estaire (Nord), SNC Sapa in Broxeele (Nord) and SARL Cap Plants in Séricourt (Pas-de-Calais).
A best practice guide on the way
UNPT and the Coupeurs de France Federation are currently working on a best practice guide containing procedures to be followed when cutting as well as a list of varieties (some being more suitable than others). "The cutter also has an advisory role beyond the sanitary aspect," according to UNPT.
For more information:
UNPT
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Phone: +33(0)1 44 69 42 40
unpt.fr