OPINION: Potato shortages, flooded fields and no fodder - will someone please think of the farmers!

They're not the words that any Irish person wants to hear - but we may be looking at a shortage of potatoes in the near future.

According to farmers, a major potato shortage is looming this autumn, which can entirely be attributed to the persistent wet weather this spring.

The early months of the year are usually the time for farmers, suppliers and veg-growers alike to start planting potatoes, but only a tiny fraction of the 21,000 acre crop nationwide is in the ground at present.

The situation has been compounded by the continuing atrocious wet weather, with seemingly no end in sight. Despite it being Ireland’s warmest March on record, Met Éireann predicted that rainfall levels were set to be between two and five times higher than normal across the State this week, with the wettest conditions expected in the West and southwest.

The simple consensus seems to be that there are less crops in the ground, and Ireland has struggled through six months of rain. Farmers must get crops like potatoes into the ground over the next two weeks to avoid shortages. These are the figures facing farmers across Ireland, and these figures are worrying. 

Let's not pretend the stereotypes about spuds are entirely untrue - Ireland loves potatoes. According to Teagasc, the average Irish person eats about their own body weight (85kg) of potatoes per year, two and a half times higher than the world average. If Irish farmers are struggling to plant and harvest this essential food, why are we not hearing more about it, and why is the issue barely being addressed by figures in government?

It’s not just spuds either. Adverse weather has meant a range of detrimental issues have faced farmers - gathering fodder has proven to be more difficult, livestock have been outside less, and a range of crops usually planted in the Spring season have yet to be planted in flooded fields across the country.

While Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue did announce last Thursday that non-essential farm inspections have been placed on temporary hold for just over two weeks due to the ongoing adverse weather conditions, much more is needed in the face of a looming crisis.

As one Dublin farmer so eloquently put it in a recent interview with breakingnews.ie, “we are living on reserves and the reality is coming home. I've never seen anything like this. We have had wet winters before but they were different. It didn't rain for so long. Winter came last year on October 12th and the rain hasn't lifted since.”

For farmers such as this across Ireland, there seems to be few immediate supportive actions in sight from the State. Met Éireann have even added recently that soil conditions are likely to deteriorate further. All poorly-drained and some moderately-drained soils will be waterlogged and well-drained soils will become saturated. 

A two week ban on inspections will not plant and harvest potatoes for farmers, it will not financially support them, and it will not give any Irish grower, supplier or food production companies peace of mind. What is needed from the Minister for Agriculture and Department bodies is direct action. 

Unsurprisingly, McConalogue recently ruled out the possibility of a mini-budget or of fresh funding for departments, but one positive step he announced was a fodder support measure to provide additional assistance to livestock farmers most severely affected by “prolonged exceptional weather conditions”. A financial contribution is being provided to offset transport costs of hay, straw, silage and fodder beet where this involves a distance of more than 75km.

If more steps such as this could be implemented by McConalogue, Irish farmers could possibly breathe a sigh of relief, and we may make it to the other side of this crisis. Direct, decisive action would have the joint benefits of an easing of pressure on farmers, an avoidance of the price of potatoes skyrocketing, and even possibly some public support gained for McConalogue the untried ‘TikTok Taoiseach’ Simon Harris, clearly eager to prove himself and gain support for the lead balloon that is the current coalition.

Despite the obvious benefits, McConalogue and company have a ways to go to avoid a crisis. Further financial support, imports from abroad and allocation of farm assistance services nationwide are needed urgently. While McConalogue was happy to approve a Department spend of €450,000 on transporting seed potatoes to Ukraine, in the face of a potato shortage at home actions such as this can seem like an affront to the farmers keeping us fed.