Bolivia and Peru are working towards enhancing productivity of small potato producers

Bolivia and Peru are working on biodiversity and climate-smart good practices to enhance productivity of small potato producers, as reported by the Bolivian Ministry of Rural Development and Lands (MDRyT) and the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru (Midagri).

According to Paola Flores, the coordinator of the International Potato Center (CIP), these practices should be applied to increase the availability of products in rural areas for family farming, and to be recognized in the market at a differentiated price and thus generate income for small farmers in these countries.

In the web conference "Production, Transformation and Promotion of Potato Consumption", Flores specified that the production cycle of the potato value chain in both countries must be improved, the actions of the cooperation partners must develop internationally, and staff capacities must be strengthened through the exchange of national and international experiences.

Noemí Zuñiga, the coordinator of INIA's National Roots and Tuberous Program, commented that the potato, Peru's main agricultural product, has an average annual planting area of ​​310,000 hectares, with a yield of 14 tons per hectare.

She highlighted that about 40 percent of the area is cultivated with autochthonous and native varieties and the other 60% is cultivated with hybrid varieties that, in very few favorable growing conditions in the high Andean zone, provide more than 25 tons per hectare.

source: peru21.pe

photo: potatopro.com