2008 International Year of the Potato
The celebration of the International Year of the Potato (IYP) will raise awareness of the importance of the potato - and of agriculture in general - in addressing issues of global concern, including hunger, poverty and threats to the environment.
Over the next two decades, the world's population is expected to grow on average by more than 100 million people a year. More than 95 percent of that increase will occur in the developing countries, where pressure on land and water is already intense. A key challenge facing the international community is, therefore, to ensure food security for present and future generations, while protecting the natural resource base on which we all depend. The potato will be an important part of efforts to meet those challenges...
Potatoes are grown worldwideThe potato has been consumed in the Andes for about 8 000 years. Taken by the Spanish to Europe in the 16th century, it quickly spread across the globe: today potatoes are grown on an estimated 195 000 sq km, or 75 000 square miles, of farmland, from China's Yunnan plateau and the subtropical lowlands of India, to Java's equatorial highlands and the steppes of Ukraine. In terms of sheer quantity harvested, the humble potato tuber is the world's No. 4 food crop, with production in 2006 of almost 315 million tonnes (about 347 million US tons). More than half of that total was harvested in developing countries.
Potatoes feed the hungryThe potato should be a major component in strategies aimed at providing nutritious food for the poor and hungry. It is ideally suited to places where land is limited and labour is abundant, conditions that characterize much of the developing world. The potato produces more nutritious food more quickly, on less land, and in harsher climates than any other major crop - up to 85 percent of the plant is edible human food, compared to around 50% in cereals.
Potatoes are good for youPotatoes are rich in carbohydrates, making them a good source of energy. They have the highest protein content (around 2.1 percent on a fresh weight basis) in the family of root and tuber crops, and protein of a fairly high quality, with an amino-acid pattern that is well matched to human requirements. They are also very rich in vitamin C - a single medium-sized potato contains about half the recommended daily intake - and contain a fifth of the recommended daily value of potassium.
Demand for potatoes is growingWorld potato production has increased at an annual average rate of 4.5 percent over the last 10 years, and exceeded the growth in production of many other major food commodities in developing countries, particularly in Asia. While consumption of potato has declined in Europe, it has increased in the developing world, from less than 10 kg (22 lb) per capita in 1961-63 to almost 22 kg (48.5 lb) in 2003. Consumption of potato in developing countries is still less than a quarter of that in Europe, but all evidence suggests it will increase strongly in the future.
The potato (Solanum tuberosum) originated some 8 000 years ago in the Andes of South America. It was appropriate, therefore, that the initial impetus for declaring 2008 as the International Year of the Potato came from the Government of Peru.
At the biennial Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in November 2005, the Permanent Representative of Peru proposed - and the Conference adopted - a resolution that sought to focus world attention on the importance of the potato in providing food security and alleviating poverty. The resolution was transmitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, with the aim of having the UN General Assembly declare the year 2008 as the International Year of the Potato.
The Sixtieth Session of the General Assembly accepted the resolution in December 2005, and invited FAO to facilitate the implementation of IYP 2008. The resolution noted that the potato is a staple food in the diet of the world's population and affirmed the role that the potato could play in achieving internationally agreed development objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals.
IYP concept
Mission statement: The mission of the International Year of the Potato is to increase awareness of the importance of the potato as a food in developing nations, and promote research and development of potato-based systems as a means of contributing to achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
IYP 2008: Challenges and opportunitiesThe International Year of Potato aims at raising the profile of this globally important food crop and commodity, giving emphasis to its biological and nutritional attributes, and thus promoting its production, processing, consumption, marketing and trade. Celebration of IYP 2008 is an opportunity to make a valid and effective contribution towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals:
Food Security - improving access to safe and nutritious foodDespite the great increase in global food production over the past half-century, many individuals and communities - mainly in rural areas - do not have physical or financial access to food year round. Undernourishment places vulnerable people in a downward spiral of bad health that frequently ends in death. By disrupting access to traditional sources of nutrition, HIV/AIDS and social and political conflicts create large groups of at-risk individuals. In addition, many developing countries face a "double burden" of malnutrition: the persistence of undernutrition, along with a rapid rise in overweight due to unhealthy diets associated with urbanization. Nutrient-rich potato (and sweet potato) can contribute to improved diets thus reducing mortality rates caused by malnutrition. As well as improving food security, such action will inevitably improve the health of target populations, especially women and children.
IYP can focus global attention on the need to reach the vulnerable with solutions that reduce constraints, create opportunities, improve productivity and reduce risks in the farming systems on which they depend.
Poverty alleviation. Many farm families are caught in a "poverty trap" in which limited livelihood options conspire to keep them poor. Those livelihoods often need either slight or radical reworking to provide consistent income that enables the family to move out of - and stay out of - poverty. Local markets once safe from outside competition now face increased penetration from a wide range of suppliers due to globalization and urbanization. Learning to innovate and engage with markets, and to become more competitive, are challenges for small scale farm families. In order to compete in regional and global markets, they need yield-improving and input-saving technologies to help close the persistent yield and cost gap.
IYP can focus global attention on the need to alleviate poverty by increasing incomes and linking farmers to markets.
Sustainable use of biodiversityTo overcome the multiple challenges of plant pests and diseases, low yields, natural resources degradation, drought and climate change, potato-based agricultural systems need a continual supply of new, improved varieties. That requires access to the genetic resources contained in the totality of potato biodiversity, which needs to be conserved, yet at the same time made available to researchers and breeders in a responsible and equitable way.
IYP can focus global attention on the range of actions needed to protect, conserve and utilize potato diversity.
Sustainable intensification of potato-based farming systemsMost of the world's farms are less than 2 ha in size. In sub-Saharan Africa and many parts of Asia, farms are still shrinking and may continue to do so for the next several generations. As farm size shrinks, many farm families are switching from grains and legumes to root and tuber crops to meet subsistence and income goals. Farms with declining area are being managed more and more intensively, leading to soil erosion and ecological imbalances that encourage pest and disease outbreaks.
The IYP can focus global attention on solutions for sustainable intensification of farming systems that will stop or reverse the loss of natural resources.
Over the next two decades, the world's population is expected to grow on average by more than 100 million people a year. More than 95 percent of that increase will occur in the developing countries, where pressure on land and water is already intense. A key challenge facing the international community is, therefore, to ensure food security for present and future generations, while protecting the natural resource base on which we all depend. The potato will be an important part of efforts to meet those challenges...
Potatoes are grown worldwideThe potato has been consumed in the Andes for about 8 000 years. Taken by the Spanish to Europe in the 16th century, it quickly spread across the globe: today potatoes are grown on an estimated 195 000 sq km, or 75 000 square miles, of farmland, from China's Yunnan plateau and the subtropical lowlands of India, to Java's equatorial highlands and the steppes of Ukraine. In terms of sheer quantity harvested, the humble potato tuber is the world's No. 4 food crop, with production in 2006 of almost 315 million tonnes (about 347 million US tons). More than half of that total was harvested in developing countries.
Potatoes feed the hungryThe potato should be a major component in strategies aimed at providing nutritious food for the poor and hungry. It is ideally suited to places where land is limited and labour is abundant, conditions that characterize much of the developing world. The potato produces more nutritious food more quickly, on less land, and in harsher climates than any other major crop - up to 85 percent of the plant is edible human food, compared to around 50% in cereals.
Potatoes are good for youPotatoes are rich in carbohydrates, making them a good source of energy. They have the highest protein content (around 2.1 percent on a fresh weight basis) in the family of root and tuber crops, and protein of a fairly high quality, with an amino-acid pattern that is well matched to human requirements. They are also very rich in vitamin C - a single medium-sized potato contains about half the recommended daily intake - and contain a fifth of the recommended daily value of potassium.
Demand for potatoes is growingWorld potato production has increased at an annual average rate of 4.5 percent over the last 10 years, and exceeded the growth in production of many other major food commodities in developing countries, particularly in Asia. While consumption of potato has declined in Europe, it has increased in the developing world, from less than 10 kg (22 lb) per capita in 1961-63 to almost 22 kg (48.5 lb) in 2003. Consumption of potato in developing countries is still less than a quarter of that in Europe, but all evidence suggests it will increase strongly in the future.
The potato (Solanum tuberosum) originated some 8 000 years ago in the Andes of South America. It was appropriate, therefore, that the initial impetus for declaring 2008 as the International Year of the Potato came from the Government of Peru.
At the biennial Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in November 2005, the Permanent Representative of Peru proposed - and the Conference adopted - a resolution that sought to focus world attention on the importance of the potato in providing food security and alleviating poverty. The resolution was transmitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, with the aim of having the UN General Assembly declare the year 2008 as the International Year of the Potato.
The Sixtieth Session of the General Assembly accepted the resolution in December 2005, and invited FAO to facilitate the implementation of IYP 2008. The resolution noted that the potato is a staple food in the diet of the world's population and affirmed the role that the potato could play in achieving internationally agreed development objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals.
IYP concept
Mission statement: The mission of the International Year of the Potato is to increase awareness of the importance of the potato as a food in developing nations, and promote research and development of potato-based systems as a means of contributing to achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
IYP 2008: Challenges and opportunitiesThe International Year of Potato aims at raising the profile of this globally important food crop and commodity, giving emphasis to its biological and nutritional attributes, and thus promoting its production, processing, consumption, marketing and trade. Celebration of IYP 2008 is an opportunity to make a valid and effective contribution towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals:
Food Security - improving access to safe and nutritious foodDespite the great increase in global food production over the past half-century, many individuals and communities - mainly in rural areas - do not have physical or financial access to food year round. Undernourishment places vulnerable people in a downward spiral of bad health that frequently ends in death. By disrupting access to traditional sources of nutrition, HIV/AIDS and social and political conflicts create large groups of at-risk individuals. In addition, many developing countries face a "double burden" of malnutrition: the persistence of undernutrition, along with a rapid rise in overweight due to unhealthy diets associated with urbanization. Nutrient-rich potato (and sweet potato) can contribute to improved diets thus reducing mortality rates caused by malnutrition. As well as improving food security, such action will inevitably improve the health of target populations, especially women and children.
IYP can focus global attention on the need to reach the vulnerable with solutions that reduce constraints, create opportunities, improve productivity and reduce risks in the farming systems on which they depend.
Poverty alleviation. Many farm families are caught in a "poverty trap" in which limited livelihood options conspire to keep them poor. Those livelihoods often need either slight or radical reworking to provide consistent income that enables the family to move out of - and stay out of - poverty. Local markets once safe from outside competition now face increased penetration from a wide range of suppliers due to globalization and urbanization. Learning to innovate and engage with markets, and to become more competitive, are challenges for small scale farm families. In order to compete in regional and global markets, they need yield-improving and input-saving technologies to help close the persistent yield and cost gap.
IYP can focus global attention on the need to alleviate poverty by increasing incomes and linking farmers to markets.
Sustainable use of biodiversityTo overcome the multiple challenges of plant pests and diseases, low yields, natural resources degradation, drought and climate change, potato-based agricultural systems need a continual supply of new, improved varieties. That requires access to the genetic resources contained in the totality of potato biodiversity, which needs to be conserved, yet at the same time made available to researchers and breeders in a responsible and equitable way.
IYP can focus global attention on the range of actions needed to protect, conserve and utilize potato diversity.
Sustainable intensification of potato-based farming systemsMost of the world's farms are less than 2 ha in size. In sub-Saharan Africa and many parts of Asia, farms are still shrinking and may continue to do so for the next several generations. As farm size shrinks, many farm families are switching from grains and legumes to root and tuber crops to meet subsistence and income goals. Farms with declining area are being managed more and more intensively, leading to soil erosion and ecological imbalances that encourage pest and disease outbreaks.
The IYP can focus global attention on solutions for sustainable intensification of farming systems that will stop or reverse the loss of natural resources.