The
International Potato Center (known by its Spanish acronym CIP) is in
LimaLima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao...
,
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
. It was founded in 1971 as a root and tuber research institution delivering sustainable solutions to the pressing world problems of hunger, poverty and the degradation of natural resources. The
potatoThe potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food...
was first domesticated in a zone near
Lake TiticacaLake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,812 m above sea level, making it one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world. By volume of water it is also the largest lake in South America....
in what is now modern Peru. The
Andean regionAndean region may refer to:* Andes, mountain chain in South America* Andean Region...
is one of the major centers of biodiversity of potatoes, so it was logical to locate the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru.
The
International Potato Center (known by its Spanish acronym CIP) is in
LimaLima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao...
,
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
. It was founded in 1971 as a root and tuber research institution delivering sustainable solutions to the pressing world problems of hunger, poverty and the degradation of natural resources. The
potatoThe potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food...
was first domesticated in a zone near
Lake TiticacaLake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,812 m above sea level, making it one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world. By volume of water it is also the largest lake in South America....
in what is now modern Peru. The
Andean regionAndean region may refer to:* Andes, mountain chain in South America* Andean Region...
is one of the major centers of biodiversity of potatoes, so it was logical to locate the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru. CIP, was founded in 1971 as a root and tuber research institution delivering sustainable solutions to the pressing world problems of
hungerHunger is a feeling experienced when one has a desire to eat. Satiety is the absence of hunger. The often unpleasant feeling of hunger originates from the hypothalamus releasing hormones that target receptors in the liver...
,
povertyPoverty is the condition of lacking basic human needs such as nutrition, clean water, health care, clothing, and shelter because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution...
and the degradation of natural resources.
CIP is one of the 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research ([CGIAR]), a group of almost 60 donors including national governments, international organizations and private foundations around the world. Its mission is to conduct research on potato and root and tuber crops. This research will, according to the organization, help reduce poverty and hunger while preserving the environment through the sustainable use of potato, sweetpotato and Andean roots and tubers. CIP claims to be dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger in developing countries by research on potato, sweetpotato and other root and tuber crops, and on the improved management of natural resources in the Andes and other mountain areas.
CIP works to rescue and conserve the biodiversity of the potato and other Andean tubers. CIP’s genebank holds almost 5000 varieties of potato, the largest collection in the world. The Center has distributes hundreds of thousands of samples of this germplasm to researchers worldwide. It studies the properties of the different varieties and uses them to breed new varieties of potato that can resist disease and grow well in developing countries to improve food supplies, earnings and health. It also looks at way to use integrated crop management to increase potato yields, as well as studying the role of potatoes in natural resource systems. Finally, CIP researches the links between agriculture and human health.
RootsRoots are the parts of a plant that are usually below ground.
Roots may also refer to:- Music :*Roots *Roots *R.O.O.T.S., an album by Flo Rida*The Roots, a musical group...
and tubers are rich in
carbohydrateCarbohydrates
[Means "hydrates of carbon"] or saccharides
[The word comes from the Greek σάκχαρον, sákcharon, meaning "sugar").] are the most abundant of the four major classes of biomolecules...
and other nutrients, grow on land that often does not support other crops, use less water, are more productive and have uses both as
foodFood is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol...
and as raw materials for a wide range of industrial products. As the world
populationIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings. Individuals within a population share a factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague to imply anything...
continues to grow, strains on
agricultureAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
in developing nations will become more pronounced and roots and tubers will become more important as sources of food, feed and income for the poorest of the poor in
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
,
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
and
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
CIP aims to contribute to reducing poverty and hunger; improving poverty and hunger; improving human health; developing resilient, sustainable rural and urban livelihood systems; and improving access to the benefits of new and appropriate knowledge and technologies. CIP claims ites address these challenges by convening and conducting research and supporting partnerships on root and tuber crops and on natural resources management in mountain systems and other less-favored areas where CIP can contribute to the achievement of healthy and sustainable human development.
Potatoes
Today over 320 million tonnes of potatoes are produced annually, making potato the third most important food crop in world. The potato holds considerable promise as a developing-country crop, as leaders in countries like China, India and DPR Korea have realized. Since 2005, more than half of all potatoes produced in the world are grown in developing countries, and that percentage is steadily increasing.
Sweetpotatoes
More than 122 million tonnes of sweetpotato are produced per year, over 100 million tonnes of which come from China. Sweetpotato is predominantly a crop of the developing countries, in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. It is a reliable staple crop that grows well in many farming conditions and has few natural enemies, producing high yields in the right conditions.
Andean roots and tubers
Nine Andean species with edible roots and tubers play a major role in potato-based farming systems. These crops are of great economic and nutritional importance to subsistence Andean farmers, and are often used as substitutes for expensive fruits and vegetables in the diet. They are known in the Quechua Indian language as achira, ahipa, arracacha, maca, mashua, mauka, oca, ulluco, yacón.
Natural resources management
Mountain ecosystems are found on every continent and sustain an estimated ten-percent of the world's population. In addition, billions of people living in the lowlands depend on these ecosystems for food and other resources such as water, raw materials and energy. These areas are also important sources of plant and animal
diversityDiversity may refer to: an old old wooden ship used in the civil war era*Diversity , the business tactic which encourages diversity to better serve a heterogeneous customer base...
, both wild and domestic. In the past few decades, environmental changes and rapid increases in population densities in these mountain areas have increased problems for planning effective resource management strategies. Despite global recognition of the importance these areas, many mountain communities continue to live in poverty.
Program:
CIP’s program consists of six research divisions and three research partnerships, based in its headquarters in Lima, Peru, operating in coordination with four regional programs.
Research divisions:
Impact Enhancement
Genetic Resources Conservation and Utilization
Germplasm Enhancement and Crop Improvement
Integrated Crop Management
Production Systems and the Environment
Health and Agriculture
Partnership programs:
CONDESAN (Consorcio para el Desarrollo Sostenible de la Ecorregión Andina)
Global Mountain Program
Urban Harvest
Papa Andina
Regional offices in:
Latin America and the Pacific
Sub-Saharan Africa
South, West and Central Asia
East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Priority target areas:
the Andes region of Latin America
East and Southern Africa
the Indo-Gangetic basin of South Asia
North East Asia
most of Southeast Asia
Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Chad
the Caucasus region of Asia
the Central Asian countries of Tadzhiz, Kirghiz and Kazakhstan.
External links