• Question: What is your research doing to help stop anther potatoe famine even though it wouldn't effect us as much?

    Asked by finleye to Ben on 19 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Benjamin Hall

      Benjamin Hall answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      Hi Finleye,

      Potato famine does effect us! Obviously the most famous outbreak of the disease was the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s and is a long way in the past but the disease that causes it is still around and still destroying potato crops. Particularly when we have a particularly wet, mild growing season.

      In fact, potato blight is such a massive problem that people think it costs the global economy around 7 billion dollars a year! That’s through lost crops and having to apply chemical fungicides. All this means your potatoes, crisps and chips from the fish & chip shop get more expensive!

      With global population rising rapidly, it’s important that we secure all the food resources we can so that we can make sure everyone has enough food in the future.

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