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Networks and local capacities
Working together to solve major problems
In today’s world, working as part of a network is essential. In Central America, potato-related cooperation led to the creation of an international agricultural research network backed by an international centre. This initiative has also served as a model for similar programmes for beans and corn. Supporting local capacities on site is the cornerstone of the SDC’s commitment.
Central American countries have a few common characteristics, including their small size, mostly centralised decision-making and concentration of poverty in rural areas. There is also one more: their strong reliance on staple crops such as corn, beans and potatoes. Potatoes play an integral part in ensuring food security and represent an important source of income in the majority of regions that grow them. Potatoes are increasingly popular in cities where demand for pre-cooked foodstuffs is growing rapidly and fast-food restaurants are proliferating.
Defining problems and priorities and building up capacities
The major problems surrounding
potato growing are not easily surmounted on a country-by-country basis. In the 1990s, development cooperation thus shifted directions to focus on a regional approach. That led to the founding of
Precodepa (Programa regional cooperativo de papa), which brings together national potato programmes.Through a participatory process, the most important issues were identified and priorities selected, such as potato seed production, storage, and integrated fungal disease management. The tasks were divided according to the comparative advantages of the member countries. The SDC played a major role in financing the coordination of the programme and the training costs. Thanks to the support of the International Potato Center (CIP), local experts quickly became internationally-recognised authorities and were in high demand in the region.
Precodepa’s achievements include increases in yields, output and profitability; substantial reduction in the use of pesticides – representing savings for Central American farmers and reducing the impact on the environment and consumers; the beginnings of a processing industry (French fries, crisps) – meaning regional products entered a market previously dominated by their powerful northern neighbours; production of quality potato seed and the development of a regional potato seed market; and training for thousands of farmers and technicians.
Technological innovation and national-level research
Precodepa has become the core of the
international agricultural research network. Owing to its success, it has been the inspiration for similar networks in Central America for beans and corn, the other two important food crops in the
region.Since the 1970s, the SDC has supported productivity and research on corn, beans and potatoes in collaboration with the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) international agricultural research centres. However, despite the success achieved with farmers, the system reached its limits. The programme was overly focused on production, while the commercial aspect was practically non-existent and institutional support was weak. At the end of the 1990s, the SDC shifted its focus towards helping national systems in order to create research entities better able to respond to the needs of value chains.
Prioritising producer-to-consumer chains
In 2003, the agricultural innovation
network project Red-Sicta (Sistema centroamericano de tecnología agrícola) was launched by Central American countries inspired by Precodepa. Red-Sicta takes a broader approach because it is oriented
towards systems of production and the market and is integrated in the member countries’ entities. The idea is to produce agricultural technology that is adapted to the value chains of corn, beans and
potatoes and then to help small and medium-sized farms in Central America adopt this technology. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure food security and equip farmers for success in a competitive
market.The SDC believes in supporting local capacities on site as the cornerstone of its commitment. In its potato programmes, the SDC aids the various players in the value chains (cooperation between the public and private sectors) through competitive grants and institutional support. At the international level, the SDC backs the CIP, which is the national entities’ main partner. It also coordinates with other sponsors.