• Home
• Site map
• Contact
• Glossary
• Events
• Publications

• Deutsch
• Français
• Italiano
• English
• Español

• Dossier: Potato - archived
  • 2008 - International Year of the Potato
  • Food security
  • Supplementing income
  • Sustainable agriculture
  • Biodiversity and genetic resources
  • Networks and local capacities
  • Potato Research
  • Interview with Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher
  • Bolivian paintings
  • Potatoes - Did you know?

 

2008 - International Year of the Potato
Using potatoes to alleviate hunger and poverty
Potatoes are a food staple for many of the world’s inhabitants. They are grown just about everywhere, are very nutritious, and both their production and consumption are rising in developing countries. That makes potatoes an important resource for fighting hunger and poverty. For this reason, the UN made potatoes one of its themes for 2008. The SDC has supported the fast-growing industry of potato production since the 1970s.

The international community faces the challenge of feeding an ever-growing population, mostly in developing countries, even though the strain on land and water is already great. As the world's fourth largest food crop, potatoes – and agriculture in general – can play a key role in ensuring food security for current and future generations. Potatoes also reduce poverty by increasing incomes and putting farmers into contact with markets while protecting the natural resource base. The SDC’s support for potatoes falls within this framework.

A calorie-rich food that is also a source of income

Potatoes are grown at nearly all latitudes around the world, from the high Andean plateaus where they originated to the subtropical plains of India. They are well suited to areas where land is limited and labour is abundant. Potatoes are rich in carbohydrates, protein, and vitamin C. In developing countries production has doubled in less than 20 years, with China emerging as the world’s largest producer. Potato consumption in these countries is also increasing as demand grows.

It is often small-scale farmers who grow potatoes in developing countries. When production and marketing techniques are adapted to their situation, they are able to increase their income. The SDC considers this to be an important issue, which is why it supports farmers’ organisations and helps coordinate partners making up the value chain. The SDC also believes in the importance of producing traditional potato varieties that are managed by small farmers, particularly in Peru and Bolivia.

Improving the quality of potato seed and preserving biodiversity

It is important to improve farming systems because productivity can be increased sustainably through the use of adapted farming techniques. Potatoes need to be protected from the effects of climate change and from the diseases to which they are susceptible and which continue to pose a threat (such as late blight). Quality seed potatoes are therefore necessary to improve yields. Thanks to integrated disease and pest management, a sustainable environment can be ensured.

The future of potato farming – and of agriculture in general – depends on the preservation of genetic diversity. Potato-based farming systems are in continuous need of new and improved varieties. Producers should therefore have access to genetic resources and to biodiversity.

Research and working as part of a network

Extensive research is conducted on potato varieties. The SDC is a long-time backer of the International Potato Center (CIP), which manages the largest germplasm collection in the world (5,000 varieties and 100 wild species) for their preservation and use. The SDC also works closely with several similar national collections in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, giving priority to native potato varieties.

In the modern world, working as part of a network is essential. Supporting local capacities on site is the cornerstone of the SDC’s commitment. In Central America, regional cooperation was the source of many innovations adopted by farmers and led to the creation of an international agricultural research network.

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals

Tout As both food and a source of income, potatoes can make a significant contribution towards reducing hunger and extreme poverty in the world. In other words, potatoes can help us achieve the first of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set out by the international community.

The initiative for the International Year of the Potato 2008 (IYP) came from Peru, where the potato originated around 8,000 years ago. The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), which has the lead role in the IYP, intends to show that potatoes, and farming in general, can play an important part in resolving global problems such as malnutrition, poverty and threats to the environment.

The SDC supports the FAO and CIP’s international activities and will be an active participant in a number of events held in Switzerland (see the events calendar). In 2007, the SDC invested a total of around 6 million Swiss francs in potato programmes in seven regions and countries.