Unveiling the Future of Potatoes and Sweetpotatoes: How You Can Shape Breeding Decisions

Are you ready to be a part of something groundbreaking? The future of potato and sweetpotato breeding is in your hands, and your expertise can make all the difference.

In recent years, there’s been a growing recognition that a demand-led approach is key to maximizing the impact of investments in crop breeding. This means we need reliable, comparable, and timely market intelligence to design new varieties effectively.  The International Potato Center (CIP) is part of the CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence – a collaborative effort bringing together social scientists, crop breeding teams, and other experts to transform how we understand and respond to market demands and revolutionize how we approach crop breeding.

As part of this initiative, market segmentation has emerged as a crucial tool for making evidence-based decisions and prioritizing investments. CIP, in consultation with national partners, has identified 59 market segments for potato and 32 for sweetpotato in the Global South. But identifying these segments is just the beginning – now they need to be characterized to uncover impact opportunities.

So, how can you get involved? CIP’s Market Intelligence team has developed an e-survey designed to gather insights from potato and sweetpotato experts, including breeders, seed system specialists, market analysts, agronomists, and practitioners with in-depth knowledge of the sector. If you fit the bill, your input could help shape the future of potato and sweetpotato breeding.

The survey itself is straightforward and shouldn’t take more than 10 to 40 minutes, depending on the extent of your expertise and the number of countries you can provide information on. And the best part? It’s available in English, French, and Spanish, ensuring accessibility for experts across the globe.

But here’s the kicker – to ensure the reliability of their estimates, CIP needs a high number of respondents. That’s where you come in. By participating in the survey, you’re contributing valuable insights and helping to ensure this groundbreaking initiative’s success.

And as a token of appreciation for your time and effort, participants have the chance to win big. Ten lucky respondents from each survey will be randomly selected to receive a $100 gift card – just a small way of saying thank you for helping to shape the future of agriculture.

So, what are you waiting for? Your expertise could be the missing piece in the potato and sweetpotato breeding puzzle. Join us in this exciting journey and participate in something truly transformative. Together, we can unlock a world of possibilities for the future of food security and agricultural innovation.