Work Package 9 - Policy

This work package is being led by Jon Pickup (SASA)

 

Aim

To influence change in government policy to safeguard Scottish land from PCN and create a coordinated control strategy for infested land.

Action

Influence change on Scottish Government policy surrounding the following areas related to PCN:

  • Review potential incorporation of special PCN-free status to protect land from future infection with PCN.
  • Review statutory control measures to enhance PCN management, including increasing the planting of PCN resistant potato seed in the proximity of existing or previous infestations.
  • Incentivisation for landowners to be involved and engaged in long-term PCN management.
  • Assess the lack of regulation of ware land for PCN management.  
  • Increasing soil testing provisions and sampling precision within Scotland by reviewing equipment and laboratory space.

 

For more information about WP 9, please contact: Jon.Pickup@sasa.gov.scot

Publications

The Estimated Economic Contribution of Scotland's Seed and Ware Potato Sectors

Authors: Steven Thomson
March 2024

This report is part of Work Package 1: Economic Contribution of the Scottish Government funded research project: Delivering a sustainable potato industry for Scotland through management of Potato cyst nematode (PCN). As part of this workstream this report aims to provide new insights into the economic contribution that the Scottish potato sector makes beyond the often cited farmgate value of potato production. This report provides a statistical overview of this concentrated and highly regulated sector, including data on consumption, exports, imports, production, varieties, seed and ware sector – alongside estimates of economic contribution.