Production is expected to fall across all main potato crops in the North this year, according to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAER). The Potato estimates came from a survey involving pre-harvest digs on potato crops from approximately 75 farms.
In 2016, the pre-harvest production estimate of maincrop and seed potatoes is 129,700t, a 2% decrease from the previous year. When the early varieties were included in the total pre-harvest estimate, production also decreased by 2% to 131,300t. This year the area of potatoes planted in the North increased by 4% to 3,700ha while yields fell by 6%.
