To celebrate National Potato Day last Friday, October 3, a number of events were organised in the Avondhu area highlighting the importance of Ireland’s continued relationship with the potato. Local potato growers came together to host children and teenagers on their farms as part of the national initiative spearheaded by Bord Bia, the Irish Potato Federation and the Irish Farmers Association.

Students from various schools experienced at first hand the life of the potato on local farms. They saw its journey from the time it is planted in the ground until it reaches their plates - from farm to fork.

A group of 52 children including 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th class and their teachers from Ballygown National School visited the farm of Connie and Nora Sheehan, Castletownroche, where they saw potatoes growing in the field and being harvested.

In Sheehan's yard, they experienced a live demonstration of potatoes being washed, graded and bagged for the retail market. Potatoes were cooked in different ways and the children got the opportunity to taste them. IFA North Cork county chairman Billy Cotter, gave a presentation to the children on farm safety where he highlighted the importance of farm safety in light of the unfortunate statistics of children involved in farm accidents. Five children have lost their lives on Irish farms so far this year.

David and Paul Flynn hosted a similar event in Fermoy with fellow growers Lyle and Linda Buttimer. Five classes from Grange National School were brought to the field where they also saw potatoes growing and being harvested. A short farm safety presentation was given by Ciaran Collins, Teagasc, Moorepark. They then divided into two groups and were taken to the Flynn and Buttimer yards respectively. Pupils from Castletownroche National School were brought to the local farm of T J Sheehan for a similar event.

Two groups of Leaving Certificate students from Colaiste an Chraoibhin, Fermoy and Glanmire Community College also attended the events on the Flynn and Buttimer farms. This day trip was part of an Agricultural Science project on potatoes that they are working on at the moment.

Following the event, Nora Sheehan said: “There is a general belief out there that children do not like potatoes. However this myth was dispelled last Friday when children consumed potatoes cooked in many different ways and relished every mouthful. With not a morsel left it was evident that the humble spud was greatly enjoyed by all.”

As one of the main organisers of events for National Potato Day in the Fermoy area, potato grower David Flynn, said that he himself had learnt a great deal from hosting the school children.

“It was so gratifying to see the children enjoy being out in the fresh air learning about nature and for as it was for me having the privilege of being the person standing in front of them answering their questions and explaining where their food comes from."

He said he was amazed at the amount of parents and teachers that spoke to him since the event, and all said the trip was a great idea. They felt that for something so simple, it had captivated the children's interest and imagination in a new direction of hands-on learning, which they did not feel was explored before. For this reason, Mr Flynn feels that more and more of these kind of initiatives should be pushed at local and national level through organisations such as Agri Aware and the IFA.

blog comments powered by Disqus