Excessive rains and an increased presence of late blight disease devastated the Cusco region of Peru in January-February 2010, which was declared a national emergency area. The food security of communities in the Paucartambo province of that region was maintained in large part thanks to two late blight resistant potato varieties, called Pallay Poncho and Puka Lliclla, developed by the International Potato Center.
noticias2
U.S., Brazil Join to Boost Mozambique’s Farm Sector
3/15/2011 Go to the article link allAfrica.com
An exhibition to celebrate the potato in its day, May 30
For the first time the public of Lima can appreciate the exhibit The Odyssey of the Potato that toured Europe during the International Year of the Potato in 2008. The exhibition illustrates the process of potato domestication that the ancient inhabitants of the Andes accomplished, and the evolution of this tuber into a food that contributes to the food security and economic growth of the world.
Roots and Tubers: Tapping Ancient Crops to Meet 21st Century Challenges
CIP is hosting more than 250 scientists from 41 countries, 2-6 November 2009, for the 15th Triennial Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops. The symposium will address issues regarding the potential of roots and tubers to help meet growing food security needs and improve livelihoods in a sustainable way in a time of climate change. The meeting features world-renowned scientists and experts, hands-on demonstrations, and examples of successful initiatives to help indigenous farmers by boosting the marketing and commercialization of tropical roots and tubers. It also includes the participation of Peru’s Minister of Agriculture, Adolfo de Cordova, along with the European Union Ambassador, Antonio Cardoso Melo, and other high level representatives.
The Many Benefits of Purple Pride
You could be forgiven for thinking that Dr Ted Carey set out on his mission to develop a purple sweetpotato purely out of pride for the official color of Kansas State University, where he has been working at their Olathe Research and Extension Center. But over two decades working with sweetpotato has given this breeder and extension specialist an in depth understanding of the crop’s potential, and how it can improve lives both in the developed world and for resource poor farmers in developing countries.
La Ruta Condor: Conserving Potato Biodiversity in the High Andes
In the Andes, the condor is an ancient deity, and its flight is apt inspiration for the International Potato Center (CIP)’s Ruta Cóndor project to restore and conserve the genetic diversity of native potatoes within their natural centers of origin. It’s like looking through the eyes of the Condor, watching over the farmers in their fields, managing the richness of their resources, and rescuing their culture and ancient wisdom, says René Gomez, agronomist and CIP’s genebank curator for native potatoes.
New Information about CIP’s Quality and Nutrition Laboratory
CIP’s Quality and Nutrition Laboratory (QNL) is devoted to evaluating and improving the nutritional quality of potato, sweetpotato, and other staple crops. QNL analyzes micronutrients and antioxidant concentrations in these foods using leading-edge technologies such as spectrophotometry, HPLC, ICP, and NIRS. Its goal is to be a worldwide reference laboratory on nutrient analysis of staple food crops with a view of improving human health and reducing poverty and hunger. More information is available here: http://www.cipotato.org/qnlab
Potatoes are stars at Washington DC Environmental Film Festival
The film Potato Heads is premiering March 22, 2010 as part of the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital. Filmmaker Larry Engel will be joined by the International Potato Center (CIP)’s Director General, Pamela Anderson, for a discussion after the screening at American University, in Washington DC. The film features CIP and Dr. Anderson. It explores the origins and future of the potato, from its homeland in Peru across the heartland of the United States. Along the way, it takes a hard look at the importance of biodiversity and the role of potato in terms of food security in an ever-threatened world.
Study brings together vast but fragmented literature on how international research-for-development partnerships succeed – or fail.
Organizations are increasingly developing partnerships to address complex problems and achieve goals they cannot meet single-handedly. However, most are doing so without the benefit of knowledge gained from research on partnerships. A new publication from the International Potato Center (CIP), titled Perspectives on Partnerships, has brought together, for the first time, the conclusions and insights from a vast but scattered body of literature to help understand and improve the roles of partnerships.