OUR CROPS
When boiled, a single medium-sized potato contains about half the daily adult requirement of vitamin C and significant amounts of vitamin B, iron, potassium, and zinc.
China is the world’s largest producer, harvesting more than 73 million tons of potato a year.
More than a billion people worldwide eat potato.
Potato produces more food per unit of water than any other major crop.
Potato can grow in almost any climate, from sea level to 4,700 meters above sea level.
Grown in about 130 countries, potato is the third most important food crop after rice and wheat (1 ha of potato can yield two to four times the food value of grain crops).
Just 125 g of fresh orange-fleshed sweetpotato root contains enough beta carotene to provide the daily vitamin A needs of a preschool-aged child. The crop is also a valuable source of vitamins B, C, and E.
Sweetpotato is also a healthy, cheap animal feed. Studies suggest that livestock fed on sweetpotato vines produce less methane, meaning its use could potentially mitigate global warming.
More than 105 million tons are produced globally each year, with 95% in developing countries.
Worldwide, sweetpotato is the sixth most important food crop after rice, wheat, potatoes, maize, and cassava, but it ranks fifth in developing countries.
Sweetpotato can grow at altitudes from sea level to 2,500 meters above sea level, and comes in varieties ranging in color from white to yellow to orange to purple.
Sweetpotato is a storage root, not a tuber like the potato.
