News / News Bulletin

Peruvian farmers fashion "Potato Park"

Sunday, 10 January 2016 3:31 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 10 January 2016 3:32 AM ]

An exhibitor adjusts his display of potatoes in the Great Pavilion at the 2015 Chelsea Flower Show in London on May 18, 2015. AFP File Photo

Most people around the world only know and eat a few types of potatoes. But for Peruvian farmers who grow hundreds of varieties, potato is a way of life.

For Quechua Indian farmers, potato is the basic food. They have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In “Potato Park” which is a community for indigenous farmers, hundreds of small potatoes are kept separately by type.

The Potato Park cooperates with the world’s leading gene bank for potatoes where they keep seed stocks, and where rare varieties are cultivated to ensure they don’t vanish.

Here, farmers share their knowledge from generations of cultivating potatoes with the scientists.

Scientists take the varieties which farmers would like to grow, and remove all viruses, parasites and other diseases in the lab. After that, they send back the strong plants to the farmers to grow.

Farmers welcome the idea of helping scientists find out which plants grow best in the various micro-climates of the Andes. But they prefer the native varieties to the genetically engineered ones.

Considering its varieties and nutritional value, scientists believe potato is a suitable candidate for the growing population.

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