Jaap Delleman

The aim of the International Potato Day, as announced in Rome, is to connect the global potato sector and help raise awareness about the potato as an essential food crop that is grown all around the world and that consumers love to eat. It emphasises the nutritional value and versatility of potatoes and confirms that potatoes are an important crop for many countries, both economically and in terms of food supply. By organising this special day every year, countries can promote the economic impact and the role of potatoes in their agriculture and food sectors as an important source of food security and nutrition, especially in developing countries. This special day emphasises how potatoes can contribute to reducing hunger and malnutrition worldwide, which is a key objective of the FAO. Also, international attention can also lead to more investment in research and development within the potato sector. This includes new cultivation methods, improved varieties that are resistant to disease and climate change, and more efficient production and processing methods. Potatoes are a sustainable option in agriculture due to their high yield per hectare and relatively low water requirements compared to other crops such as grain and rice. The initiators explain that the Potato Day can create awareness about sustainable farming practices and the role of potatoes in these practices. Furthermore, potatoes are deeply rooted in the culture and daily lives of many communities. By celebrating the International Day of the Potato (IDP), these cultural aspects can be recognised and highlighted, which can contribute to a greater sense of communal identity and pride. Finally, the IDP offers a platform for education and collaboration among growers, policy makers, researchers and consumers. This can lead to better practices and policy making for the benefit of the potato sector. By highlighting all these different aspects, the International Potato Day helps to strengthen the potato sector, both locally and globally is the message we heard in Italy.

Sharing vision

To emphasise the importance of cultivation, the IDP started its activities at the farmers’ market in Rome. The focus here was on diversity in potato varieties and on a range of production systems. During this knowledge event, Sonia Mucci, head of administration at Fondazione Campagna Amica and Farmers Market Coalition and Beth Crawford, Director of the FAO’s Office of Strategy Programme and Budget, gave a short presentation. Their main topic was the focus on producers contributing to global potato diversity. ‘But diversity and conservation are not just the responsibility of the growers, but of the entire potato value chain’, Crawford emphasised. Because Thursday is Gnocchi day in Italy, the focus was on this famous Italian potato dish.

Focus on knowledge transfer

Knowledge transfer takes centre stage in Rome at a seminar on the contribution of the potato value chain to global food security. Here, potato specialists André Devaux, board member of the World Potato Congress, Sean Owens from the Irish company IPM Potato Group, Erika den Daas from the Dutch breeding company Meijer Potato, Jorge Anrade Piedra from the CIP International Potato Centre of Peru, Nicola Pizzoli from the Italian company Pizzoli, and Aldo Riozzoglio from Ortofruticola Patfruit shared their views. WPC director Devaux noted in his contribution that the potato is a resilient crop due to its adaptability to different agro-ecological systems and its relatively short growth cycle compared to other food crops. ‘Potatoes can be found at an altitude of 4,000 metres in the Andes and also at sea level, such as in North Africa. He also told the audience that the world’s potato acreage is 20 million hectares and it is used as a staple food by 1.3 billion people. The crop plays a dual role contributing both to the family farming economy and to its food security. But in many countries in the South, where potatoes form an important food crop, growers are achieving relatively low yields. Under these conditions, the improvement and selection of productive potato varieties that are tolerant of, or resistant to pests and diseases, particularly Phytophthora, is an important activity. According to Den Daas, the potato crop certainly has the potential to develop further worldwide. ‘It’s important to increase the yield per hectare,’ emphasised the Meijer director. She argued that there is less and less land available worldwide for the production of food. ‘That’s why we need to use agricultural land sparingly’, she adds. In her view, breeding work is very important to achieve this, but the return on investment is very low here. ‘Developing varieties is a time-consuming process. This is mainly because of the 40,000 genes that are in the potato, we only have 1 percent of the characteristics in the picture. This means there’s ample opportunity to make significant progress. More knowledge about this requires more collaboration and training and this is necessary to feed the world and keep sufficient potatoes available for everyone. It’s important, in doing this, to comply properly with plant breeders’ rights throughout the world and to establish good seed potato systems to further optimise hygiene in cultivation and thus be able to set up robust local seed potato cultivation’, she stated as important conditions. ‘To achieve this, it’s important that commercial breeders also invest more in developing countries, whereby public and private sectors can work more closely together’, she said.

Climate change challenge

Both Den Daas and Devaux indicated that, with the challenge of climate change, tolerance for drought but also for flooding are important characteristics that breeding must take into account. The robustness of varieties contributes to crop performance, both quantitatively and qualitatively.’ Decision support tools for the more efficient use of fungicides are available for this and can be combined with water and soil fertility management measures’, said Devaux He emphasised that it is important to further improve storage practices with high-quality technologies for a better quality and to reduce food losses. Although the potato is still a staple crop in rural areas of developing countries, it is gradually becoming a cash crop for farmers in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Research to improve the efficiency of potato value chains is still needed, as is promoting better coordination between the actors. This is to improve access to the inputs in cultivation and also to improve the access of small-scale farmers in the southern hemisphere to new markets such as the cultivation of French-fry potatoes. Better efficiency in the potato value chain should further contribute to creating attractive opportunities for the young population. To accelerate this, Devaux called for closing the gap between research activities in developed and developing countries and rolling out the many opportunities for increased exchange, knowledge-sharing and collaboration through public and private partnerships. FAO, WPC and CIP, but also private companies can play a role here. As an example of a fruitful cooperation, Owens shared his experiences in Kenya. The IPM Group has been active here since 2013 in setting up a potato value chain. He pointed out that the approximately 800,000 growers in the country, who collectively grow 200,000 hectares of potatoes, really need high quality seed potatoes. ‘By using healthy seed potatoes, they can immediately double their yields from 7 to 14 tons per hectare’, he said. Moreover, the Irish company is helping to improve storage and setting up training programmes. ‘As a result of improved potato cultivation, there are already 2.5 million people in Kenya who earn money from the potato chain’, Owens shared his local experience.

Official kickoff

Following the knowledge event came the official kick-off of the day with Director General Qu Dongyu being the first to speak via the video screen. He highlighted three key aspects in which the potato is relevant to the world’s population. First, he sees the potato as an important staple food, containing essential nutrients and eaten in various forms by more than two thirds of the world’s population. Unlike many other crops such as cereals, the potato is resistant to challenges such as water shortages. He indicated that growers in approximately 160 countries currently produce almost 400 tons of potatoes per year. With 735 million people suffering hunger, potatoes can play an important role in improving food security and nutrition. As a second point, he addressed the genetic diversity of potatoes. A total of around five thousand varieties are available, but most of the potatoes that are produced worldwide, have a limited genetic background. Tapping genetic diversity, he said, can help address stress caused by climate change, pests and diseases, and also further improve the nutritional value of the potato. This requires a strengthening research and development, especially for genetic gain – using efficiency-enhancing technologies that shorten the plant breeding cycles and produce new methods for the production of virus-free seed potatoes, Dongyu said. Finally, Qu Dongyu told his audien­ce that the potato offers livelihood opportunities for many farmers. Not just the large professional growers, but also the small-scale family farms in the rural areas. He argued that it is important to utilise the potato’s full potential, from production to processing and consumption. With the right technologies and equipment, growers can optimise their businesses, minimise damage to the soil, and also reduce losses throughout the chain. He called on processors to innovate with new functional and healthy products in order to give them added value and thus increase the profit margins throughout the chain. Paula Naráez of the ECOSOC organisation, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, then said that the potato fits a large part of the FAOs sustainable development goals. In his speech, Angel Manuel Manero Campos, the Peruvian Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, emphasised that it is important that the growers of his country receive a fair price for their products.

Panel discussion

After the opening session, a panel, led by moderator Makiko Taguchi, Agricultural Officer of the Plant Production and Protection Division, gave his views on the potato value chain. The panel included Professor Jin Liping, of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gustavo Mostajo Ocola, agricultural expert from the Embassy of Peru in Italy, and Rossana Polastri, IFAD Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. Also speaking were Martha Mamani Condori and Victor Anco Chirinos Peruvian growers of centuries-­old varieties. Both growers spoke about the importance for Peru of preserving indigenous varieties. ‘Our forefathers have preserved the ancient potato varieties and so we must take good care of our heritage’, Chirinos emphasised. He is therefore very happy that the Dutch trading companies Agrico and HZPC are assisting the Aquapan project to safeguard for the future the potatoes that have been growing in the Andes for centuries. ‘This applies not only to the current generation, but also to our young, future growers. The meeting was closed by FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero. He indicated that it is important to keep investing in R&D in order to continue introducing better varieties to the world, whereby it is important to grow healthy seed potatoes. However, it is also important to maintain biodiversity and preserve centuries-old potato varieties. In addition, he emphasised the importance of improving the value chain in order to create a market that motivates growers to continue to grow potatoes, both now and in the future. This certainly applies to young growers and will require the development of sustainable agri-food systems. I can’t imagine a world without potatoes’, he concludes. ●