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Belgians are well-known for their love of chips (frites), often with a large dollop of mayonnaise, but strict farmers now want to eat their chips twice a week.
Romain Cools the potato growers union Belgapom has presented it as a matter of survival, as the main export sector threatens to collapse in the coronavirus crisis.
About 750,000 tons of potatoes are piled up in Belgian warehouses, as the lockdown has sent orders plummeting.
"Let's all eat chips twice a week, instead of just once," Mr Cools urged.
Since mid-March, restaurants in Belgium and many other markets for potato growers have closed. The cancellation of Belgium's many spring and summer festivals have added to their woes.
Moreover, the international trade in potatoes has been hit. Belgium is one of the world's top exporters of potato products, including frozen chips. It sends more than 1.5m tons annually to more than 100 countries.
One small bright spot in this story is that Belgapom will now deliver 25 tons of potatoes a week to food banks in Flanders - produce that will otherwise simply rot, Belgian media report.
"In this way, part of the potato stock will still be used and we can avoid seeing excellent food, for which our farmers have worked so hard, being lost," Flemish Agriculture Minister Hilde Crevits told the Brussels Times.
The potato crisis has also hit Hauts-de-France, the neighbouring French region that includes Calais. There, almost 500,000 tons of potatoes are still waiting for customers, and will most likely be lost.
A Belgian grower quoted by broadcaster RTBF, John Van Merhaeghe, doubted that he would get any decent offers from potato processing plants for his surplus.
"At best, if they buy any extra it'll be for €15 (£13; $16) a tone - 10 times less than the price marked in the contracts. Fifteen euros is the rate they give for turning potatoes into animal feed!" Find more...
Source: Online/SZK
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