Bélgica: Potato overproduction, a non-profit organization offers to sell them at low prices to avoid waste
Mountains of potatoes that risk ending up in the trash. In Walloon warehouses, stocks are so high that last year’s harvests are threatening to rot due to lack of outlets.
To prevent this waste, the non-profit organization Waste Warriors has decided to take action: it is offering individuals the opportunity to buy ten kilos of potatoes for €5.90. This is a way to relieve the burden on producers, but also to offer households a basic product at a reduced price.
The reason for this situation: exceptionally mild weather, which allowed for earlier and more abundant harvests than usual . "We had excellent weather," explains Thomas Schiltz, founder of the non-profit organization. " So we harvested earlier than usual, even though last year’s stocks were still running low. This caused an overlap between the two harvests and a very significant storage problem ," he continues.
The result: nearly a million potatoes considered "surplus" are now without a buyer. However, even though they can be stored for up to 11 months, the volumes are so high that warehouses are overflowing. For farmers, the situation is worrying, as the market is saturated and prices are plummeting.
By organizing these direct sales, Waste Warriors hopes to both limit food waste and offer producers a breath of fresh air. The initiative highlights the fragility of an agricultural sector subject to the vagaries of the climate, but also to a market struggling to absorb surpluses.Fuente: Traducido por Argenpapa de: rtbf.be
