Lima, Peru
May 29, 2007
Source:
The International Potato
Center (CIP)
In the next two decades, the world
population is estimated to grow on average by more than a
hundred million people per year. More than 95 percent of that
increase will occur in the developing countries, where the
pressures on earth, water and other natural resources is already
intense.
Potatoes are ideally suited to places where land is limited and
labor is abundant – conditions in much of the developing world.
The potato yields more nutritious food more quickly on less land
and in harsher climates than any other major crop: up to 85
percent of the plant is edible human food, while for cereals the
figure is around 50 percent.
For the last ten years, world potato production has increased at
an annual average rate of 4.5 percent, area planted at 2.4
percent. More remarkable still is that as potato output
continues to expand, the growth rate for area planted and
production continued to accelerate. As a result, the growth rate
in potato production has nearly doubled over the last 20 years.
Potato growth rates have not only been increasing, but they have
exceeded the growth rates for many other major food commodities
in developing countries in recent years. As growth in production
for maize, wheat, and rice slowed — in some cases (e.g. wheat)
considerably — in the last decade, potato output surged ahead,
thereby increasing potato's relative importance, particularly in
Asia.
According to the latest United Nations data, China is now the
world's largest potato producer, followed by India and the
Russian Federation, then the United States. Although potato
production in Europe has fallen since the early 1960s, this
decline has been more than offset by the growth in Asia, Africa
and Latin America, thereby explaining the rise in global potato
tonnage, reaffirming the increasing importance of potatoes as a
source of food, employment and income in Asia, Africa and South
America.
A field of root crops feeds more people than an equivalent field
of wheat. The potato has become a major carbohydrate in the diet
of the people of many developed countries. More importantly,
today, hundreds of millions of people in the developing
countries depend on potatoes for their survival. Potatoes are
making a substantial contribution to meeting the need for food
in the developing countries. Consumption has increased: from an
average of 9 kg/person in 1961-63 to over 14 kg/person nowadays.
The crop is fundamental in the diets of populations in countries
in South America, Africa, Central Asia and Asia.
Potatoes also have two positive roles in health: providing
calories and providing nutrients. Potatoes are a valuable source
of nutrition in many developing countries, contributing
carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals to the diet. Research is
underway to increase the vitamin content of modern potato
varieties, using biotechnology to boost the micronutrient level
in the tubers. |
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