Sustainable Potato Production - Guidelines for - FAO.org

GAPs in the potato subsectorApplied to the potato subsector,GAP principles imply that potatoproduction:1. takes place in an economically efficientway;2. contributes to food security by providingquantity and nutritional quality for abalanced food supply;3. along with post-harvest handling andprocessing, ensures a safe food supply toconsumers;4. conserves the natural resource base;5. does not lead to emissions that endangerthe environment and biodiversity;Conserving the natural resource baseCriteriaconserve soilorganic matterIndicators Indicator values GAPspercentage ofsoil organicmatter5% organicmatter6. enhances potato biodiversity and ensuresa sufficient genetic base for varietaladaptation and resistance;7. supports viable farming enterprises andcontributes to livelihoods;8. meets the cultural and social needs ofsociety.Several approaches can be utilized tooperationalize GAP principles in potatoproduction. The most stringent one attachescriteria to each principle, with indicatorsand indicator values. For example, thefollowing table summarizes criteria,indicators, indicator values and GAPs thatcould be used in implementing principle4 above:apply compost, manure or green manureto keep soil organic matter at the desiredlevel23GOODAGRICULTURALPRATICESAND POTATOPRODUCTIONensurereplenishmentof groundwaterused byirrigationdepth of thewater table5 m belowtopsoil leveldo not over-irrigate from deep wells andtap other water sources or growpotatoes during a wetter period of theyear if the threat of disease is not high.avoid soilerosionsurface run-offof soil particles0 kg soil loss persquare meter peryearapply contour farming, make terracesand use minimum or zero-tillageimplements