Chile (Arauco): SAG Biobío seizes potatoes during inspections

More than 8,500 kilograms of potatoes have been confiscated by personnel from the Agricultural and Livestock Service during inspections at various locations in the Arauco province. These inspections aim to ensure compliance with regulations protecting the Potato Quarantine Disease-Free Area, established by Exempt Resolution No. 3,276/2016. 

Yesterday, the Regional Director of SAG Biobío, Roberto Ferrada, together with the mayor of Los Álamos, Pablo Vega, officials from the Service, municipal staff, and Carabineros de Chile, carried out an operation in the Cerro Verde sector and in businesses in the commune.

The director of SAG emphasized the importance of being present in the field, fulfilling their public duty. This year, 11 mobile inspections have been carried out, inspecting a total of 236 vehicles, and 3 official reports and citations have been issued: two for the sale of potatoes without documentation of origin and one for the importation and sale of regulated products, resulting in the confiscation of a total of 8,525 kilos of potatoes.

He also noted that the Arauco province (on the mainland), as well as the area south of the Araucanía region, are free of quarantine diseases of potatoes such as golden nematode, pale nematode, potato smut, bacterial wilt and phoma. 

Current regulations prohibit the entry of potato tubers, empty sacks, or materials that could disturb soil into these areas from unauthorized locations. This means that potatoes cannot be transported from Mocha Island or regions outside the scope of the resolution to the Arauco province unless they are denatured, peeled, or processed.

To protect this area, SAG carries out activities of the National Potato Health Program, which include surveillance and control, surveys to detect diseases, monitoring the use of legal seed, review of trade and mobile operations, among other actions.

In this context, the mayor praised the collaborative effort and stated that his municipality is a leader in the production and sale of certified seed potatoes, in addition to having significant production for consumption. He wants to protect local farmers, especially small-scale family farmers. These inspections are essential to prevent the entry of contaminated potatoes that could harm the land and compromise seed production.

Potato cultivation is of great social and economic importance in Arauco. Therefore, the SAG (Agricultural and Livestock Service) has trained local producers in diseases and seed selection to improve the quality and yield of their production.

According to the latest Agricultural Census, there are 3,369 potato producers in the province with a cultivated area of ​​approximately 3,434 hectares.