INTERNATIONAL POTATO CENTER

Potato

There are over 4,000 edible varieties of potato, mostly found in the Andes of South America. (click here for a pdf catalog of some Peruvian native potato varieties)
Potato is the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat in terms of human consumption. More than a billion people worldwide eat potato, and global total crop production exceeds 300 million metric tons.
Potato is a critical crop in terms of food security in the face of population growth and increased hunger rates. For example, China, the world’s biggest consumer of potatoes, expects that fully 50% of the increased food production it will need to meet demand in the next 20 years will come from potatoes.
The first modern “convenience food,” potato is energy-rich, nutritious, easy to grow on small plots, cheap to purchase, and ready to cook without expensive processing.
CIP’s genebank maintains the largest collection of potato in the world, including more than 7,000 accessions of native, wild, and improved varieties.

Sweetpotato

Basic Facts about Sweetpotato

Sweet potato is one of the world’s most important food crops in terms of human consumption, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia, and the Pacific Islands. First domesticated more than 5,000 years ago in Latin America, it is grown in more developing countries than any other root crop.

Despite its name, sweet potato is not related to the potato. It is a root, not a tuber, and belongs to the morning-glory family. Many parts of the plant are edible, including leaves, roots, and vines, and varieties exist with a wide range of skin and flesh color, from white to yellow-orange and deep purple.

Sweetpotato grows in marginal conditions, requiring little labor and chemical fertilizers. It is a cheap, nutritious solution for developing countries needing to grow more food on less area for rapidly multiplying populations. It also provides inexpensive, high-protein fodder for animals.

CIP’s extensive sweet potato collection contains over 8,000 accessions (about a thousand of which are wild) from all over the Americas, Asia, and Africa.
sweetpotato factsheet

Andean root & tuber crops

The promise of neglected crops

Nine native Andean root and tuber crops hold economic and nutritional importance for subsistence farmers in the Andes. They grow at high altitudes under extremely difficult conditions of drought, freezing temperatures, and UV exposure.
These lesser-known roots and tubers offer high vitamin, micronutrient, and starch content; good yields, and various medicinal properties. As a result, they also hold potential for further research, adaptation and use in other regions of the world, and exportation.
The crops are known by their Quechua Indian names: achira, ahipa, arracacha, maca, mashua, mauka, oca, ulluco, and yacon.
CIP protects and maintains the remarkable genetic diversity of wild and domestic Andean root and tuber crops threatened by extinction or genetic weakening. The genebank contains some 1,500 accessions collected from seven countries.

Maca

Andean viagra

Yacon

boon for dieters and diabetics

Ahipa

nutrient rich crop for a hungry world

Ulluco, Oca & Mashua

traditional food security staples

Arracacha

high value cash crop for poor farmers

Achira

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  CIP’s earthquake-proof genebank features state-of-the-art conservation chambers and associated facilities
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  The genebank holds over 80% of the world’s native potato and sweetpotato cultivars
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  CIP’s earthquake-proof genebank features state-of-the-art conservation chambers and associated facilities
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  The genebank holds over 80% of the world’s native potato and sweetpotato cultivarsConserving & sharing genetic diversity
  
   Genebanks conserve living samples of the world’s huge diversity of crop varieties and their wild relatives. They ensure that the genetic resources that underpin our food supply are both secure in the long term and available for use by farmers, plant breeders, and researchers.         GeGenebank

                 SEEDBANK
CIP is the custodian of the world’s largest in vitro genebank, and is the first to obtain International Standards Organization (ISO) accreditation for safe and secure germplasm movement. The genebank maintains clonal and seed collections and houses one of the world’s leading herbarium collections.
Maintained as a global public good under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, CIP’s germplasm is available for free to developing countries. It is used in breeding programs in over 100 countries.

Conservation & preservation Conserving the genetic resources of potato and sweetpotato has been a major priority of CIP since its founding in 1971. CIP maintains the largest collections of potato and sweetpotato in the world. The genebank holds over 80% of the world’s native potato and sweetpotato cultivars and over 80% of the known species of wild potato. It also maintains more than 1,500 accessions of native Andean root and tuber crops (ARTCs).

Gemplasm distribution In vitro germplasm is available for distribution. It is used in breeding programs in over 100 countries. CIP’s in vitro genebank is the first to obtain International Standards Organization (ISO) 17025 accreditation for safe and secure germplasm movement