As the globe gets ready to celebrate the inaugural International Day of Potato in May, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is drawing attention to the crop’s critical role in feeding billions of people as well as its untapped potential.

FAO recently issued a guide to the new International Day of Potato, which will be marked on May 30 under the theme “Harvesting Diversity, Feeding Hope.” It will highlight the crop’s relevance in reducing hunger and poverty while also addressing environmental risks to agrifood systems.

The International Day of Potato will also emphasize the contributions of small-scale family farmers, many of whom are women, in preserving the crop’s diversity and honoring the potato’s cultural and culinary significance.

“When the general public hears of potatoes what comes to their mind firstly might be french fries or potato chips which are not necessarily the healthiest way of consuming potatoes,” FAO agronomist Makiko Taguchi mentioned.

The International Day of Potato will also serve to showcase different healthier ways of preparing and consuming potatoes, “which links to varietal diversity because certain varieties are more nutritious,” she added.

Diversity Crucial

Preserving potato diversity is also important since an over-dependence on a small number of varieties makes them more susceptible to pests, diseases, and the effects of climate change. Even though they might not be edible to people, wild variations must be preserved because plant breeding can leverage their heritable features to improve the hardiness and nutritional value of cultivated types.

FAO’s work on potatoes includes assisting farmers and Indigenous Peoples in developing the capacity to manage prevalent diseases such as Late Blight, creating innovative solutions to cultivate potatoes with limited resources, and promoting collaboration with varied actors along the crop’s value chain.

Calls to Action

The booklet informs all stakeholders on what they can do to support sustainable potato production and consumption.

Governments and international organizations can take several measures to improve the crop’s value chain, including developing cold storage facilities and high-quality seed distribution and multiplication. They can also foster research and foster an enabling environment. Food companies have the opportunity to reduce waste, increase innovation, and provide consumers with nutrient-dense potato products. When culturally acceptable, parents and educators should incorporate locally sourced potatoes into meals at home and at school to promote good eating habits in the younger generation. Civil society can plan neighborhood activities that honor the cultural importance of potatoes and contribute to the creation of just and profitable potato value chains.

Facts and Figures

– with around 5,000 varieties, the diversity of potatoes plays a vital role in global food security and nutrition and in helping it adapt to different environments and tackling climate change;
– as the third most consumed food crop globally, after rice and wheat, potatoes are a staple in the diets of billions, forming an element in the diet of some two-thirds of the global population;
– despite a 17% decrease in the global potato area from 2000 to 2020, total production increased by 11.25% thanks to improved varieties and agronomic practices;
– a total of 159 countries in the world have potato crops on a total of 17.8m hectares. 374m tons of potato are produced in the world annually;
– a 12,000-hectare potato park in the Peruvian Andes is one of the few conservation initiatives in which Indigenous Peoples are managing their potato genetic resources and thereby protecting traditional knowledge.