Peru to develop new varieties of potatoes

Have you exhausted all the more than 3,000 varieties of potatoes and are ready for a new flavor? It looks like new varieties are headed our way!

The National Agricultural Innovation Program (NAIP), the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation (INIA) and the International Potato Center (CIP) signed four agreements to make funding available to conduct research on the production of new potato varieties.

The agreements were signed by Benjamin Quijandria, executive director of NAIP and Barbara Wells, General Director of the CIP.

With their signatures, they reached total amount of S/. 8 million in funding, with S/. 5 million from the PNIA and S/. 3 million from the CIP.

“Of the 107 winning projects, 4 of them belong to the CIP and have been developed with support from INIA researchers, who will strengthen their technical capabilities at national and international events,” Benjamín Quijandría, executive director of NAIP, according to Andina news agency.

The winning projects include: 

1) Characterization of Phytopthorainfestans and Ralstoniasolanacearum populations in three agro-ecological regions of Peru, and strengthening of INIA’s capacity for the continuous monitoring of the main pathogens of potatoes, which will receive 1,185,328.57 Sol (319,214.184 Euro) in funding from the PNIA.

2) Development of phytosanitary diagnostic methods to improve the distribution, repatriation and use of virus-free seeds of Oca, Olluco, Mashua and Yacón, which will receive 1,195,785.41 Sol (322,030.257 Euro).

3) Effective use of water for potato crops in arid areas, improving irrigation management with the monitoring of the water status to tackle climate change, with funding amounting to 1.2 million Sol (323,165.264 Euro).

4) Potato virome in Peru and strengthening of the capacity of INIA and the National Agricultural University La Molina (UNALM) to diagnose pathogens with state-of-the-art techniques, thus helping address the risk of diseases emerging as a result of global warming, with a budget of 1,199,498.03 Sol (323,030.081 Euro).