Global agrifood systems are facing challenges to feed the world’s growing population and the potato can provide an effective solution.
The recent World Potato Congress made the pitch, with Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. expressing confidence in the potential of the tuber as a source of carbohydrate and an alternative to rice, making it a valuable crop for addressing the food needs of the Filipinos.
“I am very hopeful… potato is one of the best solutions available to us today. Potatoes have many uses… from the normal table potatoes to local chips, then French fries, etc,” he said.
Tiu Laurel said he has already approved the implementation of potato seed tissue culture program, which will significantly boost potato production in the country.
André Devaux, a member of the World Potato Congress’ board and an independent consultant and scientist emeritus at the International Potato Center (CIP), said cultivating potatoes can provide incomes and sustainable livelihoods for farmers.
He stressed that the potato was a resilient crop with a high yield capacity, a short growing cycle and had a low carbon footprint.
Devaux noted that 1.3 billion people now consume potatoes worldwide but said consumption was still far behind that of wheat and rice. “It is a cash crop but also provides food for domestic consumption. It can play an important role in food crises,” Devaux said.
The DA and Universal Robina Corp., the food manufacturing arm of the Gokongwei Group, signed a five-year agreement to jointly establish and continue the Sustainable Potato Program (SPP).
The SPP, which began in 2019, seeks to develop dependable seed systems, strengthen potato farmers’ organizations, and boost farm productivity and incomes.
Under the agreement, DA regional offices and URC will collaborate to identify and select farmers’ groups for capacity building, training in good agricultural practices, seed multiplication, pest and disease management, storage, handling and marketing.
URC has committed to upscale the project and expand production areas in the Cordilleras, Bukidnon and Davao provinces in partnership with the DA and the United Potato Producers of Benguet and Mountain province and other farmers’ associations in various provinces. DA, FAO News
Chikelu Mba, deputy director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said that one out of every ten people in the world was dealing with some form of hunger and malnutrition and in sub-Saharan Africa the rate was even higher, affecting 20 percent of the population.
He said worsening climate change and urbanization had added to the challenges, and that farmers were also confronting issues with pests and diseases and conflicts over natural resources.
“What is required is a meaningful evaluation of the problems that constrain the crop’s value chain so context-specific solutions can be found,” Mba told a webinar.ahead of the recent observance of the International Day of Potato.
FAO is committed to support countries to develop resilient and sustainable potato value chains. DA, FAO News
