International Day of Potato puts Africa centre stage

May 13, 2026

The decision underlines the growing importance of potatoes across the African continent. In many African countries, potatoes are rapidly developing into an important food and cash crop, driven by their relatively short growing cycle and high productivity per hectare. According to FAO, potatoes play a key role worldwide in food security, nutrition and income generation for millions of farmers and households. The organization also emphasizes that potatoes can contribute significantly to building more resilient food systems in the face of climate change.

The International Day of Potato was officially established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2023, following years of advocacy from the global potato sector, including support from the World Potato Congress. The first edition was celebrated in 2024 at FAO headquarters in Rome under the theme “Harvesting Diversity, Feeding Hope,” building on the legacy of the International Year of the Potato in 2008.

Lesotho in the picture

That Lesotho now takes centre stage during the third edition is no coincidence. The small mountain kingdom in southern Africa has identified potatoes as a national priority within FAO’s One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) programme. Through this initiative, FAO supports countries in developing one strategic agricultural product with strong potential for economic growth, food security and rural development. In Lesotho, that product is the potato.

According to FAO, potatoes in Lesotho are evolving from a traditional staple crop into a driver of economic transformation. The organization describes how farmers are increasing production and incomes through improved seed potato systems, training programmes, market development and support for the entire value chain. Potatoes are also creating new opportunities for women and young farmers. “The potato is now a symbol of national transformation,” FAO states in its report on the country.

The selection of Lesotho also fits within a broader African momentum in the international potato sector. Later this year, the World Potato Congress will be held in Kenya. From 26 to 30 October, potato professionals from around the globe will gather in Naivasha for knowledge exchange, trade and innovation. As a result, Africa will play an exceptionally prominent role on the global potato agenda in 2026. The combination of the International Day of Potato and the World Potato Congress on African soil highlights the growing focus on regions where the potato sector still has enormous growth potential. Across Africa, potato consumption is rising rapidly, while governments and supply chain partners continue investing in improved varieties, seed quality, storage, mechanization and value chain development. As world population levels are predicted to show the greatest rise in Africa in the coming decades, the increase in contribution of potato to local food systems in this region is of considerable importance with high demand for potato across urban African zones and potential for  production increase not only in the highlands and cool annual periods of the east, north, and south of the continent but also in the higher plateaus and mountains of Central and West Africa.

Important role potato

For FAO, the International Day of Potato is therefore far more than a symbolic UN observance. The organization uses the occasion to emphasize the potato’s role in sustainable food systems worldwide. FAO also points to the remarkable diversity of the crop, ranging from smallholder production systems in the Andes to highly commercialized potato industries in Europe, North America and Asia. The important role of family farming and women growers is also receiving increasing attention. With Lesotho as host nation, this year’s edition gives that message a distinctly African face. While Europe faces challenges related to market volatility, climate pressure and sustainability requirements, Africa demonstrates that the potato is simultaneously becoming one of the continent’s major growth crops for the future.

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