The Zemnieku Saeima (Farmers’ Saeima) organization points out that the strong storm at the end of July affected not only the rapeseed, grain and pea harvest, but also the potato harvest. Potatoes are drowning and rotting on some farms in Zemgale, while Latgale is suffering from a drought. Therefore, this year potato yields and quality will be lower, while the price of local potatoes will rise.
According to Zemnieku Saeima, the destruction caused by the storm hit Zemgale the hardest. In some parts of Dobele, almost the entire potato crop was lost. However, there are also fields in Zemgale where there is not too much moisture and rot because the potatoes were planted on sandier and higher ground.
“Unfortunately, potato cultivation is a gamble. When the summer is dry, those who grow their potatoes in the lowest areas, where there is more moisture, are lucky. However, in years with a lot of rain, potatoes grow better in the higher fields,” says Juris Lazdiņš, Chairman of the Board of Zemnieku Saeima.
The association also notes that the situation in Vidzeme is relatively stable, as the rains have not been strong enough to cause damage. Although potato leaves are showing signs of rot in some areas of the region, farmers are confident that the overall harvest will be above average and the crop will last for a long time. However, this will only be seen after a month, when the later-ripening potato varieties are harvested.
According to the organization, the price of potatoes on the markets in Riga is currently around 0.65 euro cents per kilogram, compared to 0.55 a year ago.
Lazdiņš predicts that the price of potatoes will be even higher in winter. “Farms will have to do extra work to re-sort the potatoes several times and sort out the damaged ones. At the same time, there will be additional costs for labor and electricity,” he says.
The organization also points out that potato fields can currently only be insured against hail damage. To protect potato producers from significant losses in the future, insurers should develop an offer to insure potato fields against rain and drought risks to mitigate financial losses if part of the crop is damaged by the weather.
The Farmers’ Saeima is a farmers’ organisation founded in 1999. It has 800 members from small and large farms across Latvia. Together they manage more than 500,000 hectares of arable land and employ more than 4,000 people.
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