Ireland, the most famous potato country globally, is hosting a four-day congress on the spud for the first time.

The spud summit is set to take place at the end of this month in the RDS will feature more than sixty speakers and is set to be attended by up to one thousand delegates from over sixty countries.

World Potato Congress Inc. is a non-profit organisation supported by a group of volunteer directors representing potato jurisdictions worldwide.

In 1993 the first edition of the World Potato Congress was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The point of the congress was to gather potato professionals from all over the world. The OG was a success from the start, illustrating that all links of the global potato chain felt the need to meet and share ideas and knowledge, promoting the potato.

Since its first edition, World Potato Congress Inc. has developed its strategy to become a global potato organisation and a significant driver in promoting the potato crop and consumption in developed and developing countries. The UN International Year of the Potato in 2008 highlighted the potential of this ‘wonderfully healthy and versatile staple’.

Ireland is hosting the World Potato Congress this year… for the first time.

The four-day event from May 30th to June 2nd in Dublin’s RDS will feature more than 60 speakers and is set to be attended by up to one thousand delegates from over 60 countries. @VirginMediaNews pic.twitter.com/TF3JHVzc4n

— Rob O’Hanrahan (@RobOHanrahan) May 16, 2022

The potato is widely thought to have been introduced to Ireland in 1586 by an Englishman,  Sir Walter Raleigh. However, Raleigh’s potato was a sweet potato, and some people believe that the potato as we know it was not introduced into Ireland until 1590, when a shipwrecked Spanish sailor first planted it. Whichever way it happened, Irish people loved it, and it spread throughout the land faster than Covid.

Ireland became world-famous for its potato dishes and the famine a darth of them caused. These days potatoes and Ireland are so synonymous that it’s hard to imagine how this could be the first time we’ve hosted the World Potato Conference.

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