Potatoes… from Peru to the world The debate concerning the origin of the potato (Solanum tuberosum) is nearing its end. Using genetic analyses of wild species and native Andean crops, David M. Spooner, a botanist at the University of Wisconsin, has reached the conclusion that the potato has a single point of origin: to the north of Lake Titicaca, in the Andean plateau of southern Peru. Researchers from the International Potato Centre (Centro Internacional de la Papa - CIP), headquartered in Lima, Peru, including Dr Alberto Salas, an agronomist from the Biodiversity Complex and Dr Marc Ghislain, a molecular biologist, have conducted thorough morphological and molecular studies, reaching the same conclusion as Dr Spooner. Archaeologists have even determined that the ancient Peruvians consumed potatoes 26 COURIER 1/08
as far back as 7,000 years ago, when they were found growing wild in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca. With the sole origin of the potato having been scientifically determined, studies of its spread to other countries are also of some interest. It was being grown in Peru by around the 8th century BC and, according to chronicler Pedro Cieza de León, a contemporary of explorer Francisco Pizarro, the potato was taken to Spain in 1554 from where it spread throughout Europe. It reached India in 1610 and China in 1700. Worldwide importance As specified by the FAO, potatoes are of decisive importance in the diets of hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and The potato, with its many different varieties, is a basic food crop for people in the Peruvian Andes. Peru is the country in which the genetic diversity of potato varieties is greatest. Left: harvesting native potatoes at 4,000 metres above sea level. their annual consumption has increased from under 10 kg per capita in the early sixties to 21 kg today. Annual potato production is currently over 300 million tonnes and billions of people over the world consume this much appreciated tuber from the Peruvian Andes. In this regard, the FAO maintains that, since the early 60s, the surface area taken up by potato crops in the developing world, particularly China and India, has exceeded that of all other basic foodstuffs, with the demand in 2020 expected to be double that of 1993. Indeed, nowadays there are no countries where potatoes are not grown. China, Russia, India, the United States, Ukraine, Poland and Germany are the leading producers. However, although potatoes have played a fundamental role in relieving hunger on the planet, they have also been the cause of famines. From 1845 to 1848, four million people in Ireland died from hunger and malnutrition because of Phytophthora infestans, a terrible disease known as potato blight, which destroyed all the country’s crops. Hub of the potato universe Peru grows eight native potato species and 2,300 of the nearly 5,000 current potato varieties. It is also home to 90 of the 200 wild species growing on the American continent, making it the country with the greatest potato diversity in the world. The commercial varieties of potato found in Peru have curious names: Tomasa, Canchán, Amarilla, Colorada, Criolla, Tarmeña, Huamantanga, Peruanita, Perricholi, etc. One thing is clear: the potato, with all its different varieties, is a fundamental food crop for people in the Peruvian Andes. The potato is so important for feeding the world, that the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2008 the “Inter - national Year of the Potato”, justly acknowledging a crop which, although of local Andean origin and nature, is now part of our food heritage on a universal scale. This is the perfect occasion for attention to be paid to the potato by governments and the authorities involved in world food security and for Peru, as its source of origin, to assume leadership in fostering its worldwide growth and consumption. Indeed, the efforts made to promote the implantation and productivity of this crop, together with its post-harvesting management and consumption, will be most welcome. In this regard, Peru is privileged to house the headquarters of the International Potato Centre, the home of the most comprehensive genetic bank in the world, where highly qualified scientists from Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Oceania dedicate their lives to investigating production systems, natural resource management and crop and genetic resource enhancement and to preserving and protecting genetic material related to the potato and other tubers. Equally important is the research conducted at the centre relating to pests and diseases, use and processing methods, seed production and potato-related statistics. A Peruvian project, T´ikapapa, recently won the first prize in The World Challenge 2007 competition from among 940 other projects. The contest, sponsored by the BBC and Newsweek magazine, seeks out development projects and businesses that not only make a profit but also put something back into the community. Making a difference through enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level is also a key requirement. T´ikapapa is a social marketing concept enabling resource-poor farmers from the Peruvian Andes to market their distinctly labelled native potato crops in Lima’s supermarkets. <strong>Bayer</strong> <strong>CropScience</strong> in Peru <strong>Bayer</strong> <strong>CropScience</strong> has been supporting these century-old crops in Peru for many years, with a broad range of high quality products including fungicides such as Antracol ® and Fitoraz ® , insecticides such as Regent ® , Bulldock ® and Alsystin ® and herbicides such as Sencor ® . Launches of new solutions are also being prepared for the future, including a new portfolio for controlling potato blight with fungicides such as Sectin ® /Sereno ® , Consento ® , Infinito ® and Trivia ® . All these products also form part of a campaign to teach farmers how to safely manage and use crop protection products, together with application techniques. Run through the Agrovida ® programme and Integrated Crop Management at farming schools, it ensures healthy crops with eco - nomic profits. We are faced, then, with a fact and an opportunity. The fact is the ancestral origin of the potato, its diversity and its universal importance. And the opportunity to reinforce its importance as a foodstuff, enhance its production and increase its consumption is provided by the “Inter national Year of the Potato”. ■ Written by: Fernando Cillóniz Benavides, Manuel A. Cueva, Javier A. Chávarro 1/08 COURIER 27
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