In a living museum tucked away in the Peruvian Andes agronomists working with the humble potato may play an important role in feeding the world.
The Potato Park (El Parque de La Papa) is a 90 square kilometre area in Cusco that ranges in altitude from 3,400 to 4,900 metres above sea level. The park is essentially a living laboratory of potato diversity and is home to almost 1,400 varieties of the root vegetable, almost all of which are native to South America. These native strains come in every colour and texture, often looking and acting very differently to those we buy in the supermarket.