Farmer in Pas-de-Calais Gives Away 90 Tonnes of Potatoes

A farmer in the Pas-de-Calais département finds himself in an absurd position: the harvest was excellent, his industrial contracts have been fulfilled – yet he is left with around 90 tonnes of potatoes. Throwing them away is out of the question for him. So he opens up his farm, puts out a tin for voluntary donations and simply lets people come by. What began as an economic dead end suddenly becomes an act of real neighbourly support.

A full storehouse and a decision that sends a message

In the village of Penin, just over half an hour south-west of Lille, farmer Christian Roussel pulls open the heavy door to his storage building. In front of him stand tall rows of potato crates, neatly sorted but with no buyers. The season had gone far better than expected, with high yields per hectare. For many farms this would be cause for celebration – for him, it is more of a source of anxiety.

Roussel grows potatoes on part of his land for the processing industry. The buyers – factories producing chips, crisps or potato flakes – operate under inflexible contracts. They purchase fixed quantities on agreed terms. If the harvest is too good, the surplus literally remains on the farm. No one will take the additional volume.

Rather than letting the surplus potatoes rot or ploughing them back into the ground, the farmer invites local people to collect them free of charge from his farm.

For two days, people from the area can come between 8 am and 4 pm, with no booking or proof required. They arrive with baskets, buckets and crates, filling car boot after car boot. Anyone who wishes can put a few euros into a small metal tin. It is not compulsory, but the appreciation is clear.

Why a farmer would rather give potatoes away than sell them off cheaply

Although the decision sounds generous, it is above all a sign of a deep economic problem. In the processing-potato market, the contract is what matters most. Surplus produce can often only be sold at rock-bottom prices that no longer cover the costs of seed potatoes, diesel, wages and storage.

Storage also costs money every week. Electricity for cooling, ventilation and checks for rot all eat away at the remaining margins. Anyone who waits too long risks the produce becoming unusable and eventually having to be disposed of after all. For many farmers, this is painful, because hard work quite literally disappears into thin air.

Roussel therefore rejects the approach of writing everything off and chooses a practical route instead: he gives away the potatoes, prevents food waste and at the same time makes direct contact with the people who would otherwise meet his produce only on a supermarket shelf.

The region pulls together – queues form outside the farm

Word of the initiative spreads quickly. Local Facebook groups, neighbourhood chats and WhatsApp status updates are enough to set a small wave in motion. On the very first morning, queues of cars form outside the farm. Many people bring several sacks so that they can collect potatoes for parents, friends or elderly neighbours too.

Some families visibly appear relieved. The month is long, money is tight, and potatoes are a versatile staple food. Others come specifically to make a stand against waste. Others again take the opportunity to show their children where food really comes from.

An anonymous market relationship suddenly becomes a direct encounter: producer and consumer talk to one another rather than communicating solely through a price label.

Among the sacks, conversations arise about crop failures, plant diseases, energy costs and supermarket prices. Some visitors spontaneously offer help, suggesting contacts at food banks, associations or municipal canteens. The administrative routes are long, however, while the potatoes need a solution now. For the time being, it is therefore civil society rather than public administration that drives the initiative.

What the story reveals about modern farming

The case illustrates just how little certainty many agricultural businesses have. A plentiful harvest does not automatically mean a higher income. When contracts remain rigid and global market prices fall, a farm can slip into the red despite having a full storage building. The risk is borne almost entirely by the individual farmer.

Roussel has the advantage that potatoes account for only around one tenth of his land. His farm has a mixed set-up, including cereals, possibly oilseed rape or sugar beet, and perhaps some livestock as well. This diversification softens the financial blow. By contrast, anyone heavily reliant on a single crop can face serious difficulty after just one season.

For years, industry circles have called for more reliable purchasing guarantees, greater contractual flexibility and new sales routes. Direct sales, farm shops, community-supported agriculture and regional vegetable-box subscriptions are examples. They do not remove every risk, but they make farms less dependent on a small number of major buyers.

How consumers can provide practical support to farmers

• shop regularly at farmers' markets and start conversations
• take part in initiatives such as farm-gate sales or pick-your-own schemes
• use long-term vegetable boxes or subscription models
• during special offers, do not simply take what is available but donate fairly
• talk to friends and family about the background to such initiatives

These steps will not change the global market, but they give individual farms more room to manoeuvre and greater recognition.

How households can store large quantities of potatoes properly

Many visitors drive home with far more potatoes than they would normally buy. To ensure that goodwill does not create a new pile of waste in the cellar, a little planning is needed.

• Keep the tubers somewhere dark, such as a cellar, pantry or shaded storage area.
• Temperatures between 6 and 10 degrees are considered ideal; significantly warmer conditions encourage sprouting.
• Use open wooden crates, hessian sacks or nets so that air can circulate.
• Check them weekly and remove any soft or rotten potatoes immediately.
• Keep smaller quantities within easy reach in the kitchen, while storing the rest separately in a cool place.

If there is no suitable space in the house, it is worth dividing the haul up: consume one part soon and turn another into longer-lasting dishes, such as soup, a bake or mash for freezing.

Kitchen tips: making good use of lots of potatoes

The potato is regarded as straightforward, but it is easy to underestimate. Anyone suddenly faced with 20 or 30 kg at home should develop a simple plan. It makes sense to think in different categories:

Use	Examples	Storage life
Eat straight away	Boiled potatoes, fried potatoes, potato gratin	on the same or following day
Cook first and use again	Potato salad, rösti, potato fritters	2–3 days in the fridge
Freeze	Mash, stews, thick soups	several months when frozen

Important: raw diced potatoes are only suitable for freezing to a limited extent, as both texture and flavour change. It is better to cook them first, allow them to cool, then freeze them as a prepared dish.

Avoiding common potato storage mistakes

• Never store potatoes directly beside apples, as the ripening gas released by apples speeds up ageing.
• Cut away green areas generously, as they contain increased levels of solanine.
• Do not wash potatoes before putting them into storage, as moisture encourages mould.
• Labels on crates help keep track of the storage date.

Anyone following these simple rules can use even larger quantities with little loss, while also easing their own food budget.

More than a sack of potatoes: a signal of appreciation

The initiative in Penin shows how much significance can lie in an apparently ordinary crop. Behind every potato are soil preparation, seed potatoes, machinery, weather risks and often a loan as well. When that work ultimately ends up in a skip, not only is money lost, but also a measure of self-respect.

By giving away his surplus harvest, a farmer makes clear how distorted the system can sometimes be – and that straightforward alternatives are possible. People begin talking to one another, food reaches those who need it, and children see that food does not have a “magically-from-the-supermarket” origin.

For consumers in German-speaking countries, this offers a view of structures that differ little from those closer to home: contract growers for chip factories, concentration in retail and price pressure. Keeping this in mind may make people look a little more closely at the next special offer – and deliberately put a few more euros into the tin on their next farm visit.