International Day of the Potato

  KEY MESSAGES :  Better Production -  Promoting the adoption of good agricultural practices and key technologies can help millions of farmers to boost their productivity and incomes. • Sustainable agronomic practices including integrated pest management need to be developed, validated and made available to farmers.  • Improvements in breeding help meet demand for locally appropriate and climate-smart varieties . • Farmers need to have access to quality seeds of well-adapted and productive varieties that are most suited to production systems and ecologies.  • Farmers need support to access agronomic training  and innovative technologies to boost yields and minimize loss and waste.

  KEY MESSAGES : Better Environment -  Adopting sustainable potato production systems can enhance adaptation to climate change and biodiversity. •Cultivating a wide spectrum of productive varieties that are suited to the local conditions can enhance the resilience of potato cropping systems .  • Cultivating varieties of potato  that are input use-efficient and hardy can reduce the crop’s environmental footprint. • Potato-legume intercropping or crop rotation systems require less chemical fertilizers and hence reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  • Environmentally friendly agronomic practices , such as precision irrigation and conservation agriculture, should be developed, validated and disseminated.

The potato stands out as a practical and efficient solution to these food security challenges . It is a high-yield, climate-resilient, and nutritionally rich crop that offers a compelling alternative to cereal grains that require more water, more land, and longer growing periods. Unlike wheat, rice, and maize—crops that often require intensive irrigation— potatoes use significantly less water per kilogram of food produced. This makes them an ideal choice for regions experiencing water scarcity, particularly in arid and semi-arid zones where conventional staple crops struggle to survive. Moreover, the potato’s short growing cycle , with many varieties maturing within 50 to 70 days, allows for multiple harvests per year in suitable climates . This increases food availability and farmer incomes, particularly in areas where shorter growing seasons limit agricultural output.