Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By: the Centro Internacional de la Papa

Translated by: Diana P. Olano

For 366 days, the potato will be a worldwide star. The United Nations has declared 2008 as “The International Year of the Potato”, with the goal of calling global attention to the important role this nutritious Andean tuber plays in the fight against hunger and poverty around the world.

Currently, except in Antarctica, there isn’t one place in the world where the potato isn’t cultivated or consumed. The spud of incomparable taste was domesticated by pre-Colombian farmers eight thousand years from species that grew in the wild in the surroundings of Lake Titicaca.

The potato is the third most important cultivated food in the word, right after rice and wheat. Its potential is enormous. For third-world countries, it is an important source of income, food and rural employment. The cultivation of this vegetable is ideal in places where manual labor and land is abundant.

It’s because of these characteristics that attention is being called to the spectacular growth the potato has had over the last 35 years, especially in developing countries. In Asia, Africa and Latin America, potato cultivation has increased more that 80% since 1961.

For the residents of the Andes, the potato represents an insubstitutable product in their daily diet. However, it’s not just that: the vegetable is a part of their culture and way of life , being integral to certain legends, customs and traditions they hold.

The potatoes which are consumed in this area are much different that the once cultivated in other areas. Known as "papas nativas" (native potatoes), they represent a valuable heritage of pre-Incan towns. For centuries, they selected potatoes based on their flavor and resistance against the adverse weather conditions of the Andes, which is characterized by frequent frosts and droughts.

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© Fundación Martín Chambi

"We believe the International Year of the Potato will not only help in making sure the work and initiatives put into this effort are recognized, but will also serve as a way to make sure the potato receives not only national or regional success, but worldwide success, as well," says Dr. Charles Crissman, Assistant Director of Investigation of the CIP.

In March, the CIP, because of its mission to spread the word about the International Year of the Potato, will organize the worldwide conference Potato Science for the Poor: Challenges for the New Millennium. This conference, will take place between March 25 and 28 in Cusco and will count with the assistance of the most recognized potato specialists around the world. The object of the conference is to discuss how to establish scientific investigations of the potato with the goal of easing hunger and poverty in developing countries.

Another upcoming activity this year is "The Procession of the Potato". The demonstration, which will start in February, will be an 11 month event in European capital cities and will demonstrate the cultivation, pre-Incan history and route of the potato.

Stay tuned as LivingInPeru.com and the CIP will try to keep you informed on the many educational, informative and interesting events and activities the International Year of the Potato will bring to Peru this new year.

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This is great news for Peru since we are the homeland of the Potato.
By the way, we won the World Challenge that was sponsor by the BBC and Shell International where we received $20,000 as the first price.
How come this was not mention in Living in Peru.com?

Dear Elizabeth,

This news was published on LivinginPeru.com the day they won. http://www.livinginperu.com/news/5244

We appreciate the information of the International Year of the Potato.  Please include, in your next edition, the website of the worldwide conference Potato Science for the Poor: Challenges for the New Millennium: 

http://www.cipotato.org/Cuzco_conference
to allow interested persons to get a complete information of the Conference.
Best regards and a great year 2008!

Martha

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Martha Huanes

Manager, Events & Conferences

International Potato Center - CIP - Centro Internacional de la Papa

Mailing Address: Apartado 1558, Lima 12, PERU

Phone +51 1 317 5306

Fax: +51 1 317 5333

email: m.huanes@cgiar.org

Website: http://www.cipotato.org

CIP is supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

http://www.cgiar.org

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I love the Peruvian potatoes. I just hope this does not make them become a hi-bred or genetically engineered food, which would render it no longer a staple food for the Peruvian people.This would be a disaster for the people of peru. Our American corn is a good sample of NO NUTRITION thanks to genetically engineered.  Thank you Pia Mayne

I am very proud of my country  because IT is the origen of the potatoes.
everywhre the people love potatoes and our varietyis unique.

I would like that CIP  help these people Andean products to urban their markets for cobat the extreme poverty.
the people of the Andes realize a hard work every day but they earn the minimum for life.
 Thank You Perú

Also Coming to this Conference in Cusco, you'll enjoy the place where is located one of the new 7 wonder called Machu Picchu and other tourism locations where the Inca's culture was. The peruvian cousine is also awesome!

See also:
Inca road system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_road_system

Machu Picchu - The New 7 Wonder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cusco
PromPerú: Government Tourism Site (in plain english)
http://www.peru.info/perueng.asp

Cusco at Google Maps
http://maps.google.com/maps

Cusco GPS map
http://www.gpstravelmaps.com/sacredvalley.html

Tourist guide at Wikitravel
http://wikitravel.org/en/Cusco

The todays delicious and edible potato was a wild and very toxic  vegetable. The Pre Inca  farmers knew how to domesticated it and there we have one of the best contributions of Peru to the world.

The todays delicious and edible potato was a wild and very toxic  vegetable. The Pre Inca  farmers knew how to domesticated it and there we have one of the best contributions of Peru to the world.