Marketing potatoes as a healthy carbohydrate will form part of an ambitious plan to safeguard the future of the UK's potato industry.

Potato farmers from Yorkshire and the rest of the country are calling for the potato to be referred to as a "supercarb", providing a rich source of carbohydrates and vitamins.

The marketing strategy, set out at a major event in Harrogate this week, is designed to sustain demand for the potato in an ever broadening food market and forms part of a wider plan to keep the industry strong.

The British Potato 2009 event, which took place at the Harrogate Event Centre on Wednesday and Thursday, attracted more than 5,000 people from across the potato farming industry and was used by Potato Council and the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board to set out the vegetable's future.

As well as marketing the health benefits the industry wants to: improve competitiveness by better crop and business management; leverage the importance of the potato; exploit high value seed markets and to act as the industry voice to meet and manage environmental and regulatory requirements and help raise the skill base.

Allan Stevenson, chairman of the Potato Council, said the plan would take into account the changing needs of the potato sector.


Source: yorkshirepost.co.uk