13 / FRESH PRODUCE
DON’T TAKE SPUDS FOR GRANTED Lorcan Bourke, business analyst at Bord Bia reports on the 10th World Potato Congress, Peru May 2018
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he 10th World Potato Congress was held in Cusco, Peru on 27 to 31 May 2018 with congress themes exploring biodiversity, food security and business. This congress is held every three years in a different host country across the planet. Depending on the local hosting country, the themes of the event are usually set by the local country or region. Previous host countries in the past decade have been China, Scotland and New Zealand. Maybe some readers are wondering why you would even have such a congress for one crop. Well, the answer lies in the fact that after wheat and rice, potatoes are the third most important crop providing food to humanity, and as such they are grown in almost every country on the planet. While more maize area is actually grown, the maize crop is not uniquely used to feed humans, with sizeable areas grown from both animal feed and bioethanol. Of course the other huge human interest in potatoes is their sustainability credential. It takes 100 times less water to grow them than rice, which has been particularly noted in Asia and parts of the planet being pressurised to sustain ever growing human populations. So here’s the large irony of this highly nutritious crop: it seems that the wealthier more developed your society becomes the more likely you will substitute potatoes with alternative carbohydrates and/ or you will switch from the healthier cooking formats of fresh potatoes to consuming them as crisps or chips. Any statistics I’ve reviewed on the matter in the past decade show increased
THE WORLD POTATO CONGRESS FLAG HANDOVER CEREMONY TOOK PLACE IN CUSCO, PERU WHEN JUAN JOSE RISI (VICE-MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION, PERU), PRESENTED THE WPC FLAG TO LIAM GLENNON, (CHAIRPERSON OF THE 2021 WORLD POTATO CONGRESS ORGANISING COMMITTEE) IN CUSCO, ON 29 MAY 2018
growing of potatoes in less developed countries to provide food, with a gradual decline in fresh potato consumption occurring in developed western economies. But back to Cusco and the Irish interest. From 24 to 27 May 2021, Ireland will host the 11th World Potato Congress in Dublin. The Irish Potato Federation (representing Irish potato packers and merchants) succeeded in promoting Ireland as a suitable venue for this event in 2021, beating off contenders from the southern hemisphere and our Dutch neighbours. The Irish Potato Federation will be supported in the organisation of this event by Bord Bia and Teagasc horticultural teams and hence our presence at Cusco, to see how the Peruvians do it. With this mission two representatives from the IPF, three from Teagasc (Oak Park Potato Breeding programme), and myself representing Bord Bia attended the congress.
CUSCO AND PERU Many people asked me since my return, “What was it like out there?” and my consistent answer has been that as a country, Peru was like walking onto another planet in terms of everything being just so different. If one of the themes of the congress was biodiversity, we struck a rich vein of practical experience. It was my first experience of travelling in a developing country and I realised that the first thing that hits you is your own observation of human experience within the country. Cusco is the largest city in the Peruvian Andes, perched 3,500m above sea level. My hotel promotional literature boasted proudly of access to oxygen tanks and masks in reception, and they were there. Cusco for me seemed to be a ‘one stop shop’ of Peruvian Andean culture. The town itself was a model of Spanish architecture, with two major cathedrals dominating the town centre, at either side of six segments of a fabulously well-kept park with a fountain and a statue of an Inca
“Of course the other huge human interest in potatoes is their sustainability credential. It takes 100 times less water to grow them than rice”
Summer 2018 / www.horticultureconnected.ie / HORTICULTURECONNECTED
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