International Day of the Potato

   Given the upheaval in international food markets throughout much of 2008, the arrival of the year could not have been timelier. Although there had been increasing awareness of the importance of potato as a source of food, employment and income, the International Year of the Potato encouraged policy-makers, agronomists and economists to re-evaluate the potato in its role as an ideal crop to sustain food security through crisis. After all, potato prices are determined mainly by local production costs and can constitute an effective substitute for costly grain imports. All of this contributed to shifting the perception of the potato from that of an ordinary food for the poor to one that recognizes the tuber’s solid nutritional benefits and its role in counteracting the effects of cereal price inflation. This also led to growing awareness that realizing the full potential of the potato depends on a renewed commitment to potato research . In November of the International Yea...