Lima, Peru
July 26, 2007
Recent internal communications
from the International Potato
Center (CIP), related to an educational workshop offered to
Peruvian journalists on the state of potato biotechnology, have
led to some confusing reports in the international press about
CIP’s development of a transgenic potato variety.
CIP does have a transgenic potato, but this is not a new
development. The potato was produced prior to 2002, as part of a
research project designed to develop scientific capacity to work
with these new biotechnologies. This transgenic potato is not
being grown in the field in Peru or anywhere else in the world.
In April 2006, the CIP Board of Trustees, including its Director
General, decided that genetically modified (GM) potatoes would
not be disseminated by CIP in the Andean zone, which includes
the countries of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela,
Argentina and Chile. Potatoes were first domesticated in what is
modern-day Peru. Subsequent dissemination, evolution and human
selection have resulted in an estimated 5,000 native potato
varieties in eight potato species distributed across the Andean
Zone.
CIP is deeply committed to responsible development and
dissemination of new technologies. We feel that there is not yet
an adequate understanding of potential environmental risks and
cultural consequences associated with the introduction of
transgenic potatoes in the center of diversity.
The CIP GM potato was specifically developed to resist the
potato tuber moth (PTM), Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller). PTM
is one of the most serious potato insect pests, worldwide,
resulting in significant crop damage in Asia, Africa and Latin
America. No PTM-resistant potato genotypes have been identified
that can be used as sources of resistance in traditional crop
breeding projects. CIP continues an active research program on
the biology and sustainable integrated control of the PTM and
other pests that affect potato production in the Andean region
and worldwide, as well as the development of safeguards and
stewardship programs for the responsible development and
dissemination of GM crops.
Pamela K. Anderson
Director General, International Potato Center
On behalf of the CIP Board of Trustees |
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