'Growing sweet potatoes on clay soil is a challenge'

Arable farmer Niels Van der Waal grows sweet potatoes in the Hoeksche Waard on heavy clay soil under a biodegradable film. It is a very labour-intensive cultivation. "It is a challenge to optimize cultivation, also because it is an exotic crop." Van Der Waal's sweet potatoes have been on the shelves of Albert Heijn since week 48, via cooperative Nedato.

van der Waal The idea of ​​growing sweet potatoes came from his previous job at Farm Frites, where he was an agronomist and traveled extensively. During a visit to the Egyptian Nile Delta, he saw sweet potatoes, also known as sweet potatoes, for the first time. They are in the top 10 of the most important food crops worldwide. "My farmer's heart started beating faster and I started talking to Egyptian farmers. I thought: we should also be able to grow that beautiful crop here. Through a German grower I found out that the plant material can be found at propagation companies in Spain and Portugal. I made it, and so I started on half an acre."

He continues: "I grow the Orleans, Bellevue, Radians and Beauregard varieties. We started small. In addition to our arable farm with potatoes, wheat, sugar beet and onions. This year, a large part of the sweet potatoes goes to Albert Heijn via the Nedato cooperative. In addition, part of it will go to industry." No figures are kept of the total sweet potato acreage in the Netherlands, but insiders estimate that this is between 300 and 400 hectares. 

Labor intensive
There are plenty of challenges in cultivation on Dutch clay soil. He grows the potatoes under biodegradable foil. This foil is made of corn starch, which means that it cannot be found in the ground. Fully circular. Van der Waal emphasizes that the cultivation process is very labour-intensive. "The cultivation takes more hours than the cultivation of 'normal' potatoes. The harvest and lifting is all done by hand, so that is also very labour-intensive. As an example: we were planting with twelve people, and after eleven hours we had half a hectare of work was done. This summer we had bad weather, so my harvest was slightly lower. Fortunately, the quality was good." In October, Van der Waal obtained the last harvest of the country. Then it went into custody, partly at Nedato. "The product needs that period to sweeten."

When asked what his balance is, he laughs. "I was already afraid of this question. That is very difficult to say with this cultivation, because it varies quite a bit. For me it is still a quest to get more yield from the cultivation. The volume on the shelf at Albert Heijn , is only for the small sizes. The oversize goes to the industry."

Storage process in your own hands
An own storage facility for sweet potatoes is planned for next year. Those plans are still in the conception phase, but it is a deeply cherished wish of Van der Waal. So that he can keep the storage process in his own hands and optimize it. He is also thinking about expanding his acreage, but that is something he does not want to be specific about yet; especially because he has just started supplying Albert Heijn. "What I think is important is that quality remains central."

Van der Waal's sweet potatoes have been on the shelves of Albert Heijn since week 48. Together with a fellow farmer from Tholen, who grows on lighter clay soil, he supplies the Zaandam large-scale gritter (via the Nedato cooperative). Nedato had been working for some time to bring sweet potatoes to the attention of Albert Heijn. Wim van de Ree, general manager at Nedato: "We saw that the use of sweet potatoes is increasing. That, combined with Albert Heijn's intentions to obtain maximum product from Dutch soil, was one plus one equals two. We then made agreements. about the volumes, and 'we' started growing. We are now packing those potatoes."

Opportunities for Expansion
Albert Heijn can purchase sweet potatoes from Nedato for a total of about twelve weeks. "After that, an evaluation will follow, also with the affiliated growers. They should also earn something from it. If it is positive, there will be an expansion in cultivation from March. Sweet potatoes must be stored at 12 degrees with air humidification. We know not yet whether we can store until June, which means that year-round supply is not feasible. You keep a gap of a few months. This may create opportunities for expansion among the affiliated members of Nedato. Whether existing potato growers will add sweet potatoes the idea."

Rianne Nieuwenhuize

Rianne Nieuwenhuize is an editor at Boerenbusiness† She comes from the flourishing world of flowers and plants and previously wrote about the food sector for several years. The agricultural sector is close to her heart. As a child she often stayed on farms in the east of the country.

r.nieuwenhuize@foodbusiness.nl

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