PW-ACTUA More money available for research Worldwide salinisation – the With events such as ‘Smoke’s Poutinerie World Eating Championship’, Smolkin gets lots of free response on social media. planning. ‘In Great Britain, I’ve been at work now for two years, and I’ve already registered the brand; we’re now ready to conquer the market’, Smolkin reveals. He also wants to go to Australia, the Middle East, Europe and Asia within five years. Social media In order to market the brand successfully, Smolkin specifically focuses on locations that are popular with lots of youngsters. Universities and the enormous North American sports centres are important places on which he concentrates. ‘Everywhere, we’re open until four o’clock in the morning and wherever we are, we’re no. 1’, the founder tells us full of selfconfidence. In his communication, the company focuses especially on social media. He gets an enormous response with events such as ‘Smoke’s Poutinerie World Eating Championship’. It makes the brand trendy to the target group. But he also appears on the various national TV programmes, in which he talks energetically about his passion. It’s striking that wellknown TV hosts let him deliver his message with a real smile and this leaves a lasting impression with the viewers. Distinctive variety Smolkin is strikingly open about varieties. ‘Which is the biggest variety in North America?’, he asks his Audience. Russet is the unanimous answer from the hall. ‘That’s correct, so that’s not the variety I want because it’s the one everyone has. We’re different. We mainly use potatoes of the Innovator variety. We have them grown on Prince Edward Island, for example, and use them as tasty fresh chips which we cut, pre-fry and finish off on location. It’s all about experience’, is his belief, and he adds that you can only give a powerful presentation if you know exactly what your target group wants and how your company can excel at that. ● gradual increase in the salinity of the soil – is an increasing economic problem. It already seems that 1.5 billion hectares of agricultural land are threatened by salinisation, a problem that causes millions of euros of damage annually. The Experimental Salt Farm on the island of Texel – also known as the Zilt Proefboerderij – has been examining possibilities for farming on saline soils for years. From a recently published scientific study, it has been shown that there are many more possibilities, at least for potatoes, than the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has so far assumed. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs (EA) is aware of this unique research that is taking place on Texel. In 2016, minister Martijn van Dam already made 200,000 euros available for carrying out research and applying cultivation techniques in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. On top of this, a further 400,000 euros have been made available for establishing a centre of knowledge for farming in saline soils and for propagating knowledge on this subject. At the end of February, researcher Dr Arjen de Vos, Head of Research and Development of the Royal Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) Salt Farm Texel, presented the Crop Salt Tolerance report to minister Martijn van Dam. When compiling the report, De Vos worked closely together with a range of researchers, among whom Professor Peter van Bodegom of Leiden University. The Professor told the minister that the Experimental Farm requested scientists to contribute their ideas and provide a context in the interpretation of the studies, to substantiate the data, and to evaluate whether the results are correct. Van Bodegom points out that the Experimental Farm on Texel is a unique location. He says that, in the trial fields of the ‘outside laboratory’, researchers can apply salt extremely accurately. This knowledge was acquired over many years of research, and the experimental farm now has this well under control. ‘Texel has now even surpassed the FAO experimental farm. The results show that many varieties and crops are more tolerant that the FAO assumes. Together with the researchers of the experimental farm, we have analysed data, developed statistical methods, and tested for robustness. This has made it possible to make consistent statements about the effects of salinisation on crop growth’, Van Bodegom explains. ‘The results have shown that, worldwide, there are now already more possibilities for cultivation on brackish soils than the FAO claims. With this information, we’ll be able to take cultivation a step further in many countries’, Van Bodegom confirms. Looking at the future, he wants to separate even further the effects of drought and salt in farming. He says that tests on Texel are carried out purely for salt tolerance. ‘If we’re successful, breeding can respond to this and can make more crops 14 Potato World 2017 • number 2 Pagina 13
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