cip annual report 1998

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International Potato CenterAv. La Universidad 795 La MolinaP.O . Box 1558Lima 12 PeruE-mail: cip @cgiar.orgOnline at : www.cipotato .org

C P . 1 .C IP in 1 Int e rn at io n a l Po ta to e nt e r An nu a l Repo rt

Lim a Pe ru.

ISS N 0256 - 63 P ress run : 2 5 0 0May 1

Ins ide m at te r p ri nt ed o n recycled pa p er


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A Year of Confirmation

Rapid Response to Disaster

Food Security in East Africa: A Battle on Many Fronts

The Promise of Vitamin A

Diversifying Diets in China

Lost Crops Begin Finding Markets

Unearthing Native Treasures

Getting the Picture

Back to the Molecular FutureWidening the Circle

In Brief

Board of Trustees

Donor Contributions

CIP s Finances in 998

The Research Program

Selected Publications by CIP Staff in 998

Training Highlights

Research Partners

Staff in 998

CIP s Global Contact Points

The CGIAR

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Fo r th e resea rc h ce nt e rs of th e C GIAR s yst e m , th e 1998 Sys te m Rev iew pro v id e d a re soundin gco nfirm a tion o f a histor y of exce lle nce . Th e Rev ie w Pa ne l's Ch a irp e rson , M a uri ce Stron g, a ffirmed:

In ves tm e nt in th e C GIAR ha s bee n the sin g le most ef f ec tive us e of offi c ial d eve lopmen l ass istance(OD A), b a r non e .

Ta kin g th e pul se o f c urrent tr e nd s a nd en v is io nin g d e m a nd s o f th e futur e, th e Pa nel tac kl e d th e task oa na lyz in g ju st w h a t is need e d t o me et th e CG IAR's pr ee mi n e nt go a l: puttin g a n e nd to hun ge r andpo ve rty w hile prot ec ting the e n v ironment. Th e re can b e no lon g -t e rm a ge nd a for eradi a tin g povert ya nd e n surin g su sta in a ble food s ec urity w ith o ut th e CGIAR , it sta te d.

W hil e ac kn ow le d gi ng the Sys te m ' s p as t exce lle n ce , th e Pa n e l was e mp h a tic abo ut futur di r ec tions .Th e Ce nt e rs mu st b uild on th e ir str e ngth s a nd gra pp l e w ith p as t wea kn e sses, h gh t n i n~ e mphasis onke y a re as to a ll o w th e m to m ee t th e new c h a lle ng e a nd to m a ke the mo st of e mergin g opportuniti e

At C IP , we h ad ju st co mpl e te d a yea r o f ca ref ul sc rutin y a nd pri o riti zat ion of o ur re se a r[ h pr o g ram ,from w hi c h e m e rge d the n ew C IP proje c t-b ase d m a n age m e nt sys te m . Our new portfoli o o f 17 rese a rcpr ojec ts h a d b ee n ca re full y sc rutini ze d and bal a n c ed: seve n proj ec ts on p o ta to, five on swee tpotato ,a nd fi ve on man age me nt of na tur a l resour ces.

Th e n ew proj ec t-b ase d sys te m was put to th e tes t in 1 998. Our sc ie ntist s rose to the a dd e d c hallen gea nd res ponsibilit y o f di r e ct pr o jec t a nd subpr ojec t man age m e nt. In p a rti c ul a r, th e te a m lea d e rs - m a nof w ho m we re new to man age m e nt task s- ca rri e d th e ir resea rc h pro gram s throu gh the r a n s itione ff ec tive ly, a nd we co ng ratul ate th e m for d o in g so. To h e lp th e m k ee p on tr ac k a nd to fin e- tun e th esys te m as we go , in 1998 we a lso inaugur a ted th e n ew Pr o jec t Eva lu a tion , Mo nitorin g, ynd Assessm eFra m ew o rk ba se d o n p e er r eview a nd e va lu a ti o n b y a tea m o f CIP sc ie nti sts, a nd head ed b y theD e pu ty Di r ec tor G e ne ral for Resea rch.

We we re pl ease d to se e th a t th e prioritie s we ha d se t for ou r se lves in thi s pro cess w ere c lose ly in tunw ith th e ca lls to ac tion emer g in g from th e Rev iew . Th e Rev iew Pa ne l, for exa mple , c a lle d fo r a stron g

shi ft tow a rd n a tu r a l reso urc e m a n age ment (NR M ). Sin ce 199 2 , CIP h as gradu a lly incr ea e d th ea tte nti o n a llott e d t o NRM w ithin its a gend a, p a rti c ul a rly fo r th e h ig h mount a in a rea s o f he Andes . Thsto ry e ttin g t e i c ture te lIs m o re a bout th ese undert a kin gs.

Our initiativ e s in hi gh mount a in a re as ar e found ed on a no th e r on e of th e prin c iples th a th e Re v iewflagge d as a key to the futur e s u cce ss of th e Sys te m : p a rtner ship. CONDES AN , th e res e rc h co nsortiumsp ea rh ea d e d b y C IP s ince 1992 , is a tru e m o d e l o f c ol l ab o ra ti ve res e a rc h a n d d ev elopm e nt. In its s ixyea rs of ex iste n ce , CONDESAN h as recruit e d th e ac tive p a rti c ip a ti o n of m o re th a n 50 i s titutionalp a rtn e rs from th e public and pri va te sector in five And ea n c ountri e s.

At th e re qu es t of th e CGI AR, C IP h a s als o ta ke n th e lea d in th e Sys te m- w id e Global M o unt ai nPro g ra m , b ase d o n th e s uc cessf u I CON DE SA N co llabor a tive mo d e l. Pa rtn e rs in thi s init ia tive a re th eIn t e rn a ti o n a l Ce nt r e for Re sea rc h in Agro fo res try ICRAF ), for th e East Africa n hi ghland s th eIn t e rn a tion a l Ce nt r e for Int eg ra te d Mount a in D eve lopm e nt (ICIMOD ), for th e Himala yas a nd theInt e rn a tion a l Livest oc k Res e ar c h In stitute (ILRI), for ex p e rti se in live sto c k, a n important ~o m p o nofm o unt a in sy st e m s. By w orkin g toge ther , our sc ie ntist s belie ve th a t much of th e te chnol ogy res ultin gfro m thi s g lob a l resea rch pro gra m ca n b e a ppli e d a cr oss th e th r ee mount a in ec ologi e s.

In pu r suit o f th e he ight e ned co lla b o ration stresse d b y th e Rev iew, CIP c ontinu es to buil it s re sear c hb ase on stron g ti es w ith partn e rs in the indu stri a lize d and d eve lopin g countri es. In addi io n , w e arefortif y in g ex istin g m ec hanism s a nd e xplorin g new ave nu es fo r in t e r- c enter c ol l a boration in a reas su c h


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as urb a n a nd peri ur b a n ag ric ultur e a nd disaster relief a nd r e h a bilitation. Ov e r th e past years , weh ave see n our ro le in these pr io ri ty a reas eme rge and evo lve.

CIP recogniz es the in c reas in g ur ge ncy of a pplyin g agricultura l so luti ons to a llev iate hun ge r a nd

po ve rty wi t hin a n d o n th e frin ges of - o ur bu rgeo nin g c iti es. Our work w ith vege tabl es as we ll aspotato a nd sweet potato w h ic h ca n provid e re lative ly la rge a mount s of food a nd v it ami n s o n sma llplots of la nd - m a kes us parti c ul ar ly we ll p lace d fo r act ivity in thi s a rea. Seve ra l stories in th is Annu a lRe port de sc ribe how po t ato a nd swe etpot a to - fresh o r pro cesse d- can h e lp d ive rsify di ets, fig hth unge r, and wa rd off disea se in th e mo st populou s a nd n eedy a reas of th e deve lo pin g wo rld .

W h e n di saste rs s u c h as th ose d esc ribed in our lea d sto ry uproot ag ricult ure a nd ove rturn li ves , th eCG IAR Ce nt e rs pro v ide th e most co mp l e te respo n se m echa ni sm s ava ilable. In th e futur e we h ope toco ntribute even more effici e ntly by buildin g g reate r prep a re dn ess . Th e d eve lop ment of a sta ndingca p ac it y w ithin the C GIAR for ra pid eme rge n cy re lie f wo u ld speed u p ag ric ultur a l re h ab ilit a tion , cutlo sses to ga in s a lr ea dy mad e a nd diminish disruption of th e Ce nt e rs' researc h sc hedu les.

It is impo ss ib l e for u s to speak of the futur e w ithout referring to th e im portant too ls of b iotec hnolo gy,o n e o f th e priority a reas of emphas is of th e Rev ie w Pane l. At C IP, we a re proud to say th a t we a rea mong the Sy ste m wide lea d e rs in molecular tech niqu es a nd we pl a n to co ntinue to grow in that a rea .In 1 998 we b ega n co n stru c tion of a n ew biodi ve rs ity facil ity funded b y th e Gove rnm e ntof Ja p a n . Thi s fac ility w ill co mpri se a n expa nd e d , sta te of t h e -a rt bios afe ty la borator y aswe ll as a new h ome for our grow in g ge rmpl as m ba nk s. ack to th e Mol ular Future

desc rib es som e of the m a ny ways that bi otec hn o lo gy is b e in g a pplied to fu lfillCIP's mission.

O n the late bl i g ht front, 1998 h as a lso been a year of adva n ces. We n ow h ave ove r 60c ul t iva rs wi t h di v e rs ified, ho rizo n ta l res ista n ce to th i s dis ease, a nd a re in the processof re leas in g th e m to our wo r ldwide partner s for eva lu ation . Th e Global Ini tiative onLa te Blight (GILB) h as tak en h o ld as a valid a nd functionin g g loba l m ec h an ism for

exc h a nge a nd eva lu a tion of resea rc h r esu lts. W e ex pect th at it s ro le in sett in g theage nd a for co mb a ting th e wo rld 's wo rst food cro p diseas e w ill co ntinu e to grow.

All o f this h as b ee n accomp lish e d w ithin a co n text of di ff ic ult financial c irc um stances.As in years past , CIP has stood it s gro und in th e face of fundin g dilemm as . From thispro cess, we h ave e merged as a lea n but m ea n Ce nt e r ti g ht e ning o ur b e lt in th e faceof d e layed di sbu r se m e nt s and in t e rn a tio n a l exc han ge ra tes th at are of te n un favo rab le .W e h ave ca ref ully exa mi n e d o ur resea rc h pro g ra m to cut a ny s lac k, and we ha verefi n e d our strategies for researc h m a n ageme n t to ens ur e th at we a re makin g th em ax imum of o ur rese arch fundin g .

Th e su ccesses of 1998 h ave co nfirm e d that we a re o n th e rig ht tr ac k.Above al l, th ey hav e plac e d u s in a position of co nfid e nc e in o urrea diness nd o ur co llective ca p a bilities - to ma k e a differ e nce .

Hu b e rt Zandstra

Dir ec to r General

C R V S


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In Africa

Asia and Latin

America CIPanswered calls

for emergency

assistance.

I

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Th e Intern a tio na l Po tato C e nt e r res po nded qu ic klyto fo od crop e me rge ncies in Hondur as andNi ca ragua , ravage d by Hurri ca ne Mitch in O ctobe r, and in th e De mocratic P eo ple's Republi c o f

Ko rea to re build po tato pr odu ctio n afte r a fouryea r fa min e . CIP a lso help ed P e ru via n farm e rsove rco me th e e ffec ts o f an es pecia lly se ve re ElNi n o ph e nom e no n. In East Africa, the substituti o nof swee tpot ato fo r dis eased cassava helped ave rt afood c risi s.

Seeds of Hope for Central America

Hurri cane Mi t c h was th e wo rst n a tur a l dis eas te r toh it Ce ntral Am e rica in this ce ntur y. The devas ta t-ing hurri ca ne th a t slamme d th e regio n in O cto be rkilled mo r e th a n 10, 000 p eo pl e a nd infli c te d m ore

th a n $ 5 milli o n in d a mage. Th e ag ric ultur a l sec to rso f Ho ndura s a nd Ni ca ra gua we re h a rd e st hit b y th esto rm . Dis as te r of f ic ia ls estim a te th a t the hurr ica ned es troye d u p to 70 perc e nt o f th e two countr ies'bas ic food c ro ps as we ll as th e see d nee de d topl a nt futur e ha rves ts of stapl es suc h as b ea n sm a ize a nd p o ta toes.

As a res ul t , CGIAR res e a rch e rs a lo ng w ith sc ie ntists from n atio na l pro gram s laun c hed an inte rn atio na l e ffort ca l ed See ds o f Ho pe fo r Centr a lAm e rica, a two -yea r effort t o re build agri c ultur e inth e tw o countri es coo rdin ate d b y th e Intern at io na lCe nte r for Trop ica l Ag ricultur e (CIAT) in C o lo mbi a .In addition to CIP, o ther p artic ipa nt s includ e th eInte rn a tion a l Ma ize a nd Wh ea t Impro vem e ntCe nte r (CIMMYT ) in Mex ico a nd th e Intern a tio na lPl ant Ge net ic Reso urce s Institut e ( IPGRI ) in Ro me.

See ds of Ho p e fo r Ce ntr a l Am e rica is buildin g o nlesso ns le arn e d fro m the su ccess ful Seeds of Ho peo pe ration c ondu cted in Rwa nd a in 1995 follo w ingth e c iv il wa r th at s hatte red th e co untr y s fo odprodu c tion ca pabiliti e s. We lea rn e d from o urRwa nd a expe rie nc e in 199 5 o f th e import a nce o f

be ing prep ared fo r di sa ster s befo re th ey o cc ur , Di r ec tor G e ne ra l Hu b e rt Za nd stra ex plain s. Th eSee d s of Ho pe initi ative th e re fo r exa mpl e waso nly po ss ibl e beca use seve ra l CG IAR cen te rsincl udin g CIP, h ad w orked o n resea rc h pro jec ts fo rsev er a l yea rs. Th at kn ow led ge a nd ex perti seac quir ed on crop production and va riety ad apti onwas cr uc ia l in re-es tablishin g ag ric ulture a nd,

e ve ntu a lly foo d sec urity. It als o p re ~ en te acompl ete loss of resea rc h ga ins. R and a's Se e dsof Ho p e program , wh i c h invol ved P a nd sevenoth e r CG IAR rese a rc h ce nte rs , su cc ss fully

de live red modern see d technolo

gy o fa rm e rs ,he lped to re store food sec urity a nd re introdu cedcr o p di ve rsity.

Sweetpotato to be Reintroduced to Nicaragua

Altho ugh swe etpot a to was a traditi o na l c rop inw hat is now N icarag u a it is no Io n e r c ultivat edthe re . Sin ce the hurri ca ne th e rein odu ctio n ofswee tp o tato has beco me a priorit y f th e Ni car agu a n gove rnment. L o ng kno w n as a ca lami t y cro psweet potato is es pec ia lly sui te d fo r e me rge ncysitu at io ns beca use it is a ve rsa ti le a d h a rd y sour c

of su bs iste nce and th e refo re a s olid base fo ragri c ultur a l re con stru ctio n . It is a ls an exc el lentsour ce o f vita min A

Nica ru ag uan M in is te r of Ag ricultur a nd F o restr yMa rio Ar a na ex pl a in s t he G overnm e nt a im s toturn di sas te r into o pp o rtunity. Kee pin g th e focus

on sm a ll fa rm e rs CIP a nd n ation a l sc ie nt ists a rerein tro du c ing swee tp o ta to into N icarag u a a nd , incoll a bo ra tio n w ith CIMM Y T, ar e e nco ur ag ing andhe lpin g Ni ca ra gu a n fa rm e rs to pl an swee tpotato ealon gs ide co rn , a pr ac tice that ha s ~ el pe toredu ce so il e rosion in Chin a . Swee /po tatoes alsorequir e re lativel y little fe rtilize r but produ ce a hi gvolum e of root s pe r hec ta re.

CIP scientist Noel Pallais traveled to i c r g uforemergency meetings with representat ves o thegovernment and national programs as well as CGIARcolleagues to develop a strategy for r building agricul-ture in Honduras and Nicaragua.


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gricultural TechnologyHelps Feed Refugees

After the civil war a nd assoc iated ge nocide in Rw a nd a in Jun e a nd July , 1994, more th a n one million re fugees

strea m ed over the bord er into ne ig hb o rin g areasof

Zaire (now the Democ ratic Republi cof

Co ngo). Refugee campswere set up under the a u sp ices of the United Nations a nd seve ral NGOs. The di splaced population lived in th esecamps fo r a little over two years, until they were dispersed in October, 1996 - some to their home co untry ofRwanda, a nd some to ot her parts of the DRC. A 19 98 s ur vey o n the imp ac t of thi s cr isis on local ag ric ulture wascarr ied o ut in South Kivu, DRC, by Motombo Tanga nik a nd Phemba Phezo of INERA , the national ag ricultur alresea rc h in stit ute.

The nat ion a l potato and sweetpotato programs of INERA a re based at the Mulungu Research Station in Buk av u , DRC,near the e rstwhile refug ee camps. Th ese programs a re p r ~of the PRAPACE network, and they have receivedadva nced ge rmplasm a nd tra inin g from CIP for th e p ast 20 years. Th e station bec ame inv o lved in multiplyingplanting material for lo ca l fa rm ers, w ho sold th e ir ha rvest directly to the ref ug ees as we ll as to the relief agencies.

The highlands of South Kivu are mountainous, and a rab le land is located in mid - a nd hi gh e levat io n a reas (1 ,400-

2,500 meters above sea leve l . The predominant c rop is bananas, co nsum ed prim ar ily as loca l beer. The majorstap les are swee tpot ato, beans, maize, cassava, and potato. Sweetpotato, known as c il era abana o r protec tor of th ech ildr en, is uni ve rsa lly grown on a sma ll sca le for food secu rity. Along w ith other vegetab les, potatoes are w idelygrown in drained swamps as a cas h c r p mostly by weal thi er members of the community. During th e crisis,farmers we re able to rapidly int e ns ify production of bot h of these c rop s in respons e to th e refugee market.

Responding to incr eased market demand from the r efugees, most potato farmers in c reased the ir c ropping intensityfrom one to two or eve n three crops a year. Over ha lf the fa rm ers interviewed dec reased a rea planted to other c rop sin order to increase potato production. Thi s occurred at the expense of bean, maize, cassava, a nd so rg hum crops .Two-thirds of the farmers adopted new va rieties , including Cru za 48 (720 118 , introduced from Mexico in the late1970s. Thi s var iet y is re lat ive ly high y ie ldin g, resista nt to late blight, a nd tolerant to bacterial wi lt. Adop tion h asbeen limit ed by its relatively poor cu lin a ry quality, whic h makes it difficult to market. But this was ob v iou s ly not a

major iss ue for the refugee market, and it quickl y became the most w idely grow n va riety . Other estab lishedva riet ie s - M o nts ama (720049) and t he Rwandan selection Mabondo were also adopted. Seed was obtained fromthe Mulungu research station a nd from ex tensio n a nd NGOs. Some seed was brought by the refugees themselves.The ava ilab ility of ref ugees for labo r e ncouraged lo cal fa rmer s to adopt re latively l abor- int ensive practices. Theseinc lud ed heavy mulchin g at planting, deep tillage, preparation a nd ap plication of organic compos t, draining swampyplots, and hi ghe r hillin g. Over ha lf the fa rmers incr eased their use of fungicides to control late blight, a nd 42 per cen trogued o ut diseased or ot her suspic io us pl a nts to impr ove seed quality.

The presence of a ready market e nco ur aged a sig nificant increase in sweetpo tato production by a ll far mersinterviewed. The vast majority of them began to c ultivate sweetpota to twice a year, reduc ing area planted in mai ze,beans, pea nuts , a nd vegetab les. Over ha lf the farmers planted new va riet ies, ava ilab le from th e Mu lun gu station.Th ese new va riet ies had been se lected primarily for ea rliness and high yie ld: Kareb e II and Mugande reg ionalfarmers' var ieties initi a lly ident ified as superior by the Rwandan research program ; Yanshu 1 a hi gh-y ie lding andear ly C hin ese variety, norma lly sco red as marginal by taste panels in Africa; Mulun g u I , a loca l Co ngo lese farmers'var iety recently identifi ed as sup e rio r by resea rchers; and Benikomachi a Japan ese var iety with relatively low yieldbut exce llent taste. Farmer preference for Yanshu over the better-tasting Benikomachi indicated the refuge emarket's wi llingn ess to accept va riet ies w ith relatively l ow c ulin a ry quality.

Thi s case s tud y illustrates the positive effec ts of applying ag ricu ltural technology in a rapid response program ondisaster re lief w ho se cost is inc reasi ng a t a n alarming rate in sub-Saha ra n Afr ica. Both potato and sweetpo tato w illhave im porta nt roles to play as short -seaso n, nutritiou s, loca lly ava ilab le foods. CIP and PRAPACE w ill co ntinu e towork w ith partners and donors to make them available as quickly and eff ic ie ntl y as possible in eme rge nc y situations,while si mult a neousl y pursuing a longer -term strategy to expa nd more permanent m a rket opportunit ies.


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Honduras Adopting TPS Program

In Honduras, CIP is he lpin g repl ace potato va rie tie slo st in the hurri ca ne by using tru e potato se e d

TPS ). Di r ecto r Gener a l Hubert Zandstra ex plains,"CIP has built up a strateg ic res e rve of TPS th atallows us to respo nd quickly to e m e rge nci es suchas th ese ." To reduce th e cost of p ota to farming,fa rm e rs in H o nduras were being trained to cu ltivateTPS just befor e the storm stuck. Although th e stormdestroye d th e first plantin g, CIP has ex pand edeffo rts to distribute new seeds and tra inin g m ateria ls throughout the country. "The u se of TPS sho uldpr o duce lar ge quantiti es of dis ease -free seedpot a toes in a frac tion of the tim e normally req uiredus ing clonal see d pot a to es," Zand stra said.

Breaking Nor th Korea s Famine

In rece nt yea rs North Korea has suffered a fa mineth at, by some es timat es, ha s led t o the de ath s ofmor e than 3 million peo ple. Its pot a to crop h asbee n me age r (about 1 million ton s) s ince 19 90. Inthe last four yea rs , two -thirds of th e potato c ro pha s been lost to either drought from El Nino o rsevere floodin g.

Pot a to , introduced from Russia 70 ye ars ago , isNo rth Kore a's third leadin g food c rop after rice andm a ize . North Korean farmers pl a nt a n annualave ra ge of 200 000 hecta res of four locall yimpro ve d va riet ies that as of 1998) had not beenren ewe d in more than 10 years . As a result , la tebli ght and v iruses cause more th a n two-thirds ofpo ta to produ ction los ses. Plant ed on poor ,unfertiliz ed so ils in va riou s rotati ons with co rn ,vege tables , a nd rice , pot a toes yield an average ofa bo ut 7 ton s per hec ta re.

Extremely eage r to be co me self- sufficient in potatoproduction a nd overcome its lon g-sta ndin g foo de m e rge nc y, in 1998 North Kore a aske d CIP to help

re-e sta blish pot a to produ ction u si ng both TPS andtuber seed. Th e Ce nter r esp ond ed immedi ate lyw ith a 1-kilo gram don at ion of TPS (Serrano x TPS-67), hand- ca rrie d b y CIP techni c ia n Roland oCabello. H e trained a do ze n North Koreansc ie ntists and technicians from th e AgrobiologicalInstitute of Pyo ng ya ng in a ll aspects of produ c ing apotato crop from TPS. C IP also wo rked w ith a

coa lition of age nc ies ass istin g North Korea to u sethe technolog y. Th ey includ ed the r-\JGO WorldVision ; the Office of Forei gn Disaster Assistance oUSAID ; Po tato Produ c tion Int e rnation a l (PPI ), a

private com pan y based in C a lifornia r and nation aprogram partners in Vietnam a nd CHJn a . Th e TPSprovided under co ntr act by PPI cont k ins threecombinations de ve lop e d b y CIP in t r e late 1980 s(Serran a x TPS-6 7, Atzimba x TPS-6 , an d

TPS- 7 x TPS-1 3) . ~

The seed provided by CIP has been istributed togove rnm e nt in stitutes in North Kore : s three majorpotato-growing reg io ns for planting by loca lcooperatives. The goa l of th e c d e~ y ofAgricultural Scien ces in 1999 i s to ~ l n t200hectar es (1 percent of the total pota o seed I n gs)

w ith tub er see d produced from TPS. 1Th e NorthKorean s a re no w pr epa ring seedlings for th e 1999plantin g seaso n.

Zandstr a says CIP ca n also m a ke a ajor contribution to tuber seed-based pot ato pro uctionbec au se of its experience in n eig hb rin g co untri esw ith s imil ar gro w in g conditions. Fo r exa mple , CIPand the Chinese Academy of g r i c~ l t u ra Scienc eshav e developed a va riet y, CIP-24 , t a t is c urrentl ybeing grow n on million s of hecta re s in China .

The assistance from CIP and ot he r , ga ni za tions i sex pe cte d to pave th e way for expa n tled gove rnm e nt ti es between North Korea a nd the UnitedStates , two countries that hav e b ee n in a Cold Warstalemat e for nearl y ha lf a century.

Sweetpotato Averts Food Crisis in ast Africa

In north easte rn Uganda , a se riou s oL br ea k ofAfrican Cassava Mosaic Viru s disea r seve ral yearsag o d evasta ted th e c rop , leadin g to boom insweetpo tato produ ct ion for both ho i e u se andfor sale in Kamp a la, the capital. Th e qui ck

co nve rs ion to swee tpotato ave rted a pot e ntial foodemergency in a reg ion that h as bee beset w ithc hroni c m a lnutrition a nd starvation from civil strifs ince 1 995.

While cassava is m aking a comeba k, w ith there lea se a nd multipli ca tion of disea e-resistantvarieties, Peter E we ll, CIP reg ion a l representative


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for sub-S aha ra n Africa in Na irobi, says soc ialsc ie nti sts a re see kin g inform at ion o n how swee tpota to product ion ca n b e inc rease d to m ee t n ewnee ds a nd ma rke ts, a nd how thi s would affectfa rm ers. Sweetpo tato is pl ay ing a n in c reas ing rol ein Eas t Africa, a nd is expecte d to fol low th e pa tte rnes tabli shed in As ia over th e pas t 30 yea rs w ith atra nsition tow a rd th e use of swee tp o ta to forpro cess ing a nd a nim a l feed.

Meanwhile , the cassava virus is rap idl y s pr ea din gint o weste rn Ke nya . Ewe ll sa id C IP is ge ttin g manyre qu es ts from non- gove rnm e nt a nd co mmunityorgan izat io ns for he lp in se ttin g up pro gra m s forth e multipli cat io n a nd di stribution of s up e rior CIPdeve loped sweet po tato va rie ties.

Chacasina s Popularity rowing in Peru

Th e pa rticul a rly seve re El Nino eve nt of 19 97 - 98increas ed te mp e rat ures in Pe ru fro m 3 to 5 deg reesa nd dr e nched reg ion s th at h ad go ne w ith o utm eas ur abl e ra infall in mor e than a decade withtorr e nti a l downpour s. Th e res ult was pot ato yie ld sc ut by h a lf in m any m a jor produ c tion r eg ions,

a lon g w ith up sw ings in the numb e rs of pests a nd indi seases, espec ia lly late bl ight.

Th e severe late bli ght attac k took its tol I on ma nypotato va riet ies, includin g one of Pe ru s risingstars, Canchan- IN IA, deve loped jointl y by C IPa nd Pe ru s nat ion a l potato pro gra m a nd r e lease d tofarmers in 199 0 . o weve r, a CIP TPS hybrid ,Chacasina , perform ed we l I und e r th e s tress of

l Nino. Chacasina is a c ross betwee n the m os tpopul a r loca l va riety produ ce d in th e ce ntralAndes, Yungay, a nd a C IP late bli ght- res ista ntbr ee din g lin e .

Th e success of Chacas ina co ntinu es to grow inPe ru. Ha rves ts in mor e th a n 100 Pe ru vian distr ictsw here the va rie ty has sprea d h ave been exce p

tion a l. As a res ul t , the Center has been asked toprodu ce two mor e sim ila r va rie ties. Meanwh ile,in the afte rm at h of El Nino , CIP has distributed 16kilograms of Chacasi na TP S to mor e than 5,000fa rm fa milies in 1 7 depar tm e nt s, 59 provinc es,and 108 d istr ic ts in Pe ru , acco rdin g to No e l Pa lla s,hea d of CIP s seed unit.

R. CAB ELLO

Scientists at the NorthKorean national re se a rchinstitute using T Stechniques taught tothem by CIP.

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1

Across

ast Africa s

semiarid,densely

populated

plains,

thousands of

villages

depend on the

sweetpot to for

food security .

On farm trials areimportant for testing

techniques and refiningresearch objectives

W ith out th e sweetpo tato , says Robert Odeu ,th e re wo u d be a terribl e hun ge Robert is from

Dokolo v il l age in Soroti Provin ce in north eas tUga nd a. A decade of c ivil wa r h as killed off th e

v illage rs' ca ttle, th e parasiti c str iga wee d h asattack ed the co rn a nd so rghu m , a nd a v irule ntm osa ic v iru s has de vast ated th e cassav a crop .Dokolo village is not a lo ne. Across Eas t Afr ica 'ssem ia rid , de nse ly populat ed p la in s, thousand sof vi ages d epend on sweetpotato fo rfood sec urity.

Swe etpotato is dep e nd ab le . Once the plant formsed ib le roots , a hun gry fami ly ca n start eatin g; a nestab lished patc h keeps pr o du cin g, desp it edrou ght , fo r month s. Sweet potato is flexibl e.Farmers ca n stagge r produ ction ac ross the r eg ion's

two ra in y seaso n s, from Ap ril into Jun e/Jul y andfrom A ugust into Novemb e r/ Dece mb e r. Th ey ca nleave t he c rop in the ground , ha rve sting pi ece m ea las nee d ed , or they ca n ha rvest every thin g at once .W hil e th e su ppl y lasts, fam ilies bo il or steamthe root s, ea tin g th e m w ith p un ge nt ,gro un d nut sa u ces .

Food sec urity, ho weve r, is as much a boutprocessin g as it is abo ut produ ction. Whenth e dr y seaso n se ts in , weev ils sta rt toprolif e ra te. To keep the swee tpotato crop

from b e ing destro ye d , vil l

agers

ha rves

tw h a te ve r is left in their fie lds. Thi s s urplu sca n tid e the m o ver durin g th e lon gDec e mb e r-to-April dry season i f it ca n bekept from spo ilin g.

O n be ha lf of his v illage , Rob e rt Odeuwo rks on a jo int po sth a rves t proj ec tspo n so red by CIP and U ga nda s NationalAg ric ultural Resea rch Organ iza tion(NAR O) . Its objective is to u se traditionalsto rage tec hnolo gies in n ew ways. To helpv illage rs keep fresh sweetpotato lo nge r,

NARO ' s Kwanda Resear c h Institute hasintrod u ce d stora ge pits co n stru cted fromloca l m ate rials . A typ ica l c irc ul a r pit isabout a meter deep and a mete r a nd a halfw ide. Once the pit is cl ea ned out, farmerscompact t he wa l s and cover t he bottoma nd sid es wi t h dried grass. Roots a re thenpa c ked into the pi t , in a pa tte rn that

p e rmit s s uffic ie nt a ir c irculat ion. A ra w roof is seover t he top , b race d from be lo w b y a bambooframe. Thus prot ec te d , fresh root s c n be ke pt t woto three m o nth s.

Dr y ing is the trad itio na l way to pr e e rve sw eetpotato. For a coar se g y o wo m e n rus h a nd sundr y ch unk s of fres h root. For mu k eke chi ps , themen slice up the ro o ts in t o ro un d, fat pieces,w hic h the wo me n th e n spread out t dry ; bo t hkeep for bet wee n four a nd five mo ths. D riedsweetpotato is bo iled in sa uces a lo g w ith bea nsa nd vege tabl es . For the sta rch y stap e , a ta pa wo m e n grind up d ried c hunk s or c hi p s into acoa rse flour, w hi c h i s reh ydrat ed in wa te r, bo iled ,mashed , a nd th e n ea ten directl y as thi c k porrid ge . M ille d so rghum o r mill et ca n b e mi xe d in,

a long w ith ta m a rind fruit , le mo n, ~ ma ngo.

V illa ge rs pre fe r the s liced a mu kek c hi ps , saysCIP food sc ie nti st Vita l H age nim an , beca use th equalit y for proce ss ing is higher a nd th ey s tor e


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be tte r; un fo rtun a te ly, pro cess in g c h ip s is mu chm o re tedio us. To speed up c h ip p ro du c tio n ,NARO has d es igned a du r a b le iron -s lice r w ith a nadju stab le, h and -c ra n ked b lad e. A sm a ll wo rkg ro up ca n slice a bo ut 1 80 kilos of swee tp o ta toro ot s a n h o ur, o r abo ut a m e tr ic to n a d ay. Thr eeSoroti v illages a re ex pe rim e nt ing w ith thi s syste m.

The co mm e rc ia l de ma nd for a hi gh-qu a litya muk e ke c h ip is ex pa nd ing . M il le rs g rind t he c hi psint o flo u r, w hi c h is s o ld in th e to w n s, m os t ly fo rma king a tap a . The flo u r ca n a lso be u se d inb a king. Dee p-fried d o ugh fo r m a n z i a nd form a ny types o f coo kies, ca n b e m a d e a lm os tex cl us ive ly w ith swee tpo t a to flou r. Fo r ca kes and

br ea d , up t o 50 pe rce nt of th e flo ur ca n b e obta ined fro m dr ie d swee tpot a to, a lth o ugh it has tob e ve ry w h ite, and ve ry c lea n. Fres h m as hedswee tp o ta to ca n a lso be m ixe d d irec tly int o thedo ug h . lr1 tas te tes ts, co nsum e rs sa id s uc h add itionsimpro ve d the c o lo r, tex tu re, tas te, a nd fr es hn ess ofd ee p-fried b u n s, chapat is a nd m a ncl z is Thefini she d p ro du c t is a lso less greasy .

In coo pera tio n w ith NARO 's pos tha rves t pr og ram ,CIP spo nso red a thr ee -da y pro cess ing wo rksho p atSo rot i s D istr ic t Fa rm Institu te in Se re re . M o re tha n5 0 v il lage wo m e n a tte nded , p lu s m e mb e rs o fc ommu ni ty o rga n iza t io ns a nd eve n so m e loca lb a ke rs. The y spe n t a day t est ing rec ipes a nde xp e rim e nt ing with d iffer e nt a m o unt s o f swee tpota to flo ur. T hey tr ied ou t the s lic ing m ac h in e,d e b a ted t he bes t ove n con str uc t io n, a nd exa m inedthe s to rage p its. Prospe ct s for b aked goods a re ve ryprom is ing as th e re is a n es ta b lished d e m a nd ,pro cess ing tec hn o logy is ava ila b le, a nd th e h igh

pr ice of imp o rted w heat m a kes su bstitu tingswee tp o tato flo u r a v irtua l nece ss ity.

Swee tpo ta to r es h o r dr ied- is a stap le for a lmo steve ry v illage in S o roti. It a lso m a kes a g o o d fee dfor ho gs. Acco rd ing to Dai Pe te rs, CIP ru ra lde ve lopm e nt spec ia list, kee pi n g ho gs he lpsv illage rs c on ve rt the ir sur p lus swee tpo ta to in to aso ur ce o f ca p ita l; hog s beco me s m a ll sa vingacco unt s w ith sho rt-ter m ma turi ty. To e nsur ed iges t ib ility, fres h root s sho uld be bo ile d , a ndv ines , w hi c h pr ov id e a good so u rce of prot e in,nee d to be c ho pp ed up. U sing root s as fee d do esnot d imini sh foo d se cu rity. As Da i ex p la ined ,v illagers sta rt ra ising ho gs in Ju ly, w he n the first

swee tp o ta to h a rves t b eg ins. Root s a re ab u nd a n tinto D ece mb e r, a nd t he ho gs a re so ld off atChri stm as tim e, just a s the d ry se as onget s u nd e rw ay.

Food sec u rity de pe nd s o n impr oved c apac ity fo rstora ge, pro cess ing, a nd u ti lizat io n . But fro nt- e ndp rodu ctio n ca nno t b e igno red e ithe r. Vil lage rstyp ical ly leave s om e roo ts in th e g rou nd d urin g thed ry seaso n . Month s lat e r, w he n th e ra in s st ar t, theroot s of th is ha rd y pe re nni a l pl a n t re -sp ro u t. Afte r afew wee ks, th e v ines a re st ro ng eno ugh for fa rme rsto t ake c utti ngs, w hi c h the y use to re -es ta b lish th ecrop . Las t yea r, th e ra ins sto pp e d e a rly and startedlate. T he re su lt was a s ix-m o nth d ro ugh t th a t k illedoff m o st o f th e p la nt s a nd p ut the reg io n 's foodsupp ly a t risk. We ma nage d to ge t mu ltip lica t iongo ing aga in , b u t it too k mu ch too lo ng, not e dPh ilip Nd o lo, w ho head s u p t he swee tp o ta topro gram at the Ke nya A gric ultu ra l Resea rchInstitut e (KARI). To p rev e nt a no th e r p rod uc tio n

weetpotato hasincr ease d grea tl y nimport a nce n North e n

Zambia wh e re mo sthou se hold s have a pl t

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2

crisi s Ndolo and his t eam wo rk w ith women'sgro up s in 15 communities nea r Alupe, in Kisumudistri ct. This year , each memb e r w ill plant h ea lthycuttin gs in a small 1.5 sq ua re -m e ter nurs e ry bed

prepar e d in ad va nce. They wi wate r the b ed asneeded throughout the dry seaso n. Then , once th erainy seaso n start s, they can take c uttings from th evin es imm ed iate ly, w ithout wa iting for the o ldroots to re -sprout.

There is a noth e r advantag e . According to CIPe ntom o log ist Nicole Smit , weev ils prefer thewo o dy vines left o ver from th e la st har vest. Wh e nfa rm e rs ta ke cuttings from these old volunteerplants , th ey end up tr ansfe rrin g weev ils to theirnew fie ld s. But , Smit exp la in s w ith cuttin gsfrom a nursery , farmers be g in the next season w ith

fresh, cl ea n planting m ater ia l less likely to b einfest e d. Weevils cannot dig ve ry deeply into th eground, so hillin g around plants a nd har ves tin gla rge tubers first also he lp s minimize dam age.Spe c ia l prob lem s posed b y eac h of the re gion 's twoweev il spec ies Cy/as brunn e us and Cy/aspuncti co llis make the se defe nsi ve practicesesse ntia l. So far, var iet a l res ista nce has pro vedelusiv e, a nd biologi ca l co ntrol s s u c h as pherom onetraps have had sca nt imp ac t on weev il popul at ions .

Farm e rs se lected their va riet ies under hea vy

dis ease a nd pest pressure , notes CIP breeder TedCar ey. Under lo w- input co ndition s, their c ultiva rsdo better than improved germp lasm from headquarters . Considering tropi ca l Africa ' s largenumb e r of sweetpotato landraces, plus their hi ghdry m a tter content and th e ir v iru s resistance , th ereg ion is viewe d as seco nd a ry ce nter ofsweetpotato di versit y. By c ross ing Afr ica n t ypesw ith e li te va rietie s from CIP, Ca rey a nd hi s nat io na lpro gram partners expect to ge t ea rly-maturin gva rie ties w ith hi gher yie lds that store well . Th eya lso ex pec t a ne w selection suc h as SPK 004 tohe lp combat v itamin A d e fic ie ncy, especiall y in

c hildr e n . Chronic throu gho ut mu c h of tropicalAfr ica, lac k of vitamin A ca n lea d toperm a ne nt blindness.

In both Uganda and Kenya, w hit e-fles hed va rie tiesw ith a high dr y-matter content (30-38 per ce nt ) a repr e ferr ed, both for fresh cons umption and forpro cess in g. In co ntra st, o ra nge- fleshed va riet ies,w hic h are rich in beta-c a roten e v ita min A), te nd to

be mu shy, and th e ir dr y-matter co nt e nt rarelysurpasses 24 p e rce nt. Gi ven th e def c ie ncy ofvitamin A in th e loca l diet , findin g n o ra ngeflesh ed type sweetpotato that is ace ptable to

farmers is a priority . Th e quicke st p th to se lectionhas come from multi-locational N a 1o na l Pe rformanc e Trials (NPT) in w hi c h Ugand a and Kenyahave exc han ged a nd sc reen e d mat e ia l co llect edfrom farmers. Su c h trials h e lped C a rr y and hisnation a l pro gra m co unt e rparts to id e ntif y Ke nyanSPK 004. Thi s c ultiv a r is rich in v ita\n in A-3 .44milli grams pe r 100 gra m s of sweetpotato nd haa n acceptable dr y-matter content of 3 1.6 percent.Thanks to th e CIP-backed re sea rc h metwork,PRAPACE , w hi c h ove rsees region a l tlistribution anfield trials , va riet ies such as SPK 004 ca n bedi stribut ed qu i c kly to neighboring co untri es and

local farmers .

Mrs. M w anzi of Okame village n ear Alupe had aplot of SPK 004 as part of an on-farm tri a l. She andher 10 -yea r o ld daught e r dug u p th e grou nd , hilledthe so il, a nd pl a nted it. The cuttin gs ca m e from thAlupe substation. I like a lot of va r'e ties that arere ad y at di ffere nt times , she says. o r th a t reaso nshe also stag ge rs he r planting . Mrs . Mw a nzidemonstrat ed he r tec hnique , cutting four long stemfrom a plant w ith h e r machete , ea c about 30ce ntimet e rs long. She put tw o of th m toge th e r,

mounded up a hill of dirt w ith h e r ands, a nd thenpushed the stems in to the hi 11 Sh e oo k a few morcutt ings and pu shed them in from tHe s ide. It isbest to plant a lot of stems, she sai d , in case somof them die . Mrs . Mwanzi plant ed PK 004because she had hea rd it was goo d o r h e rchildrens ' hea lth . She a lso planted a nursery for thedr y season to ge t the first ne w root s ea rly and toki11 the hun ge r.

To ensure food sec urity, CIP and its nat iona lprogram partn e rs must w ork on ma y fronts-frombreeding to pes t management and tilizat ion. To

characterize ge rmplasm a nd elimin te duplicates ,they need th e tools biotechnolog y prov ides. Todesign effec tive pest co ntrol strateg ies, they ne edon-farm co lla bor a tion. The y cannot igno reswee tpot ato's po sth a rves t and mark e tin g problemsincludin g sto rage a nd processing . sha re results ,they mu st build up stro ng resear c h t w o r k sAnd ,in the e nd , th ey ca nnot forget th e 1J st requirement:that East Africa n village rs like Mrs. wa nzi grow


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An est im ated 250 million c hildr e n in deve lopi ngco untri es a re v ita min A-d ef ic ie nt , puttin g them atrisk not on ly fo r ni ght blindn ess but a lso fo r thehi ghly in fectio us diseases e n ab led by reductions inth e ir immun e function.

Since the discovery of vitam in A s im pact o nc hildr e n s hea lth in the 1970s, a id gro up s havedonated and he lp ed di st ribut e v itam in A ca psule sto malnourished c hildr e n and lactating wome n. Butbeca u se it is difficult to get supp leme nt s to so me ofthe wo rld s poorest or st ri fe- ridd e n co un tr ies, m a nyass ista nce age nc ies a re now see kin g to fort ify loca lfoods with vitamin A

In a study in Kenya, new va rie ties of swee tpotatoeslpomoea batatas) th at a re ric h in beta- ca rotene, a

precursor of vita min A, have been introduced a nd

promoted to wo m e n farmers. Th ese vari et ies have

been se lected by CIP a nd Kenyan sc ie nti sts to h e lpalleviat e vitam in A deficiencies, espec ia lly amongthe youn g.

Th e Kenyan study was o ne of five two-yea rint e rvent ion programs undertak e n by the Internation a l Ce nt e r for Researc h on Women (ICRW) toexplor e ways to stre ngthen women s co ntri b u tio nsto red uc ing iro n and v itam in A defi c ien c ies. Ot herstudi es we re ca rrie d out in Ethiopia , Peru, T a nzania , a nd Thailand. Th e Kenyan stud y was aco llabo ra tive effo rt by the N at io na l Potato Re-sea rc h Ce n te r of the Kenya n Agricultural R esea rchInsti tute (KARI), C IP, the NGO CA RE s progr a m inHo m a Bay Distri ct, and farmers.

Sweetpotatoes a re a wide ly cu ltivated tradit io nalcrop in Kenya. Th e m ajo r sweetpota to-produc ing

reg io n is the western part of the cou ntr y, w he reci r AR CH v ES vitami n A deficie ncy is common. In

Keny a, at present , the sweetpotatoesmost co mmonly grown a re w hit eflesh ed varieties low inbeta-carotene. In western Kenya,sweetpota to es are eate n as asuppl eme nt a ry staple food a nd areco nsum ed w ho le (bo iled) o r a remashed and eate n w ith legumes,leafy vegetab les, m eat, o r fish .Swe e tpotatoes are cons ide red

a woma n s crop, as they ca n begrown o n the sm a ll plots of landwomen rece iv e from their hu sba nd sat marriage.

In the st ud y, o range- fles hedsweetpota to es ric h in v itami n A we reintrod uced to 20 women s group intwo di stricts of western Kenya w he rev itami n A deficiency was hig h andw he re white sweetpotatoes were aco mmon seconda ry stap le (theprimary food is maize). H a lf of the

women s groups received a pac kagedesigned to promote the use a ndco n su mption of o ra ngesw eet potatoes , includin g nutri t ioned ucat ion a nd training in foodprocessing, packaging, preparationa nd marketing .

Because it is

difficult to get

supplements to

some of the

world s poorest

or strife-ridden

countries, many

assistance

agencies are now

seeking to fortify

local foods with

vitamin A

Vitamin A-richsweetpotatoes are beingintroduced in Kenya tohelp ward off cripplingdiseases, especially inyoung children .

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4

Consumer preferencesare a crucial factor in

variety evaluationand s lection

Res ul t s indi ca te th at orange-fl es hedswee tpot a toes a nd sw eetpotato-b asedfoo d produ c ts w e re a cceptab le to bothprodu ce rs a nd co nsumers and he lp edin c re as e v ita min A intake. Seve ra l o f thenew swee tp o ta to va rie ties gro w n in th eo n-farm tria ls p e rfo rmed we ll w ithres pec t to y ie ld a nd pe st re sista nce a nda lso we re high in b e ta-car o te ne .

Th e a pp ea ra nce, tas te, a nd tex tur e o fth e new va rie ties we re w e ll acce pt ed b ycommun ity g roup s. Proces se d foodprodu c ts m ade b y substitutin gswee tp o ta to fo r o th e r ingredi e nt s we rea lso po pu la r. An d g ro w in g co nditi o ns inth e s tud y pr ove d fav orab le for grow ing

seve ra l c rop s o f swee tpotat o pe r yea r.Al I of th is fac to rs co u d ma keswee tp o ta to a n affo rdable be taca rot e n e ri c h foo d , a tta in abl eyea r-ro und .

Wid es pr ea d di stribution of th e or a ngefles he d swee tpotat o v ines o cc urr ed assoo n as th e s tud y project w as und e rwa y. G ive n thi s po pu larit y, th e u se o fo range swee tp o ta to es should g ro w, asKARI of f ices pl a n t o continu e to m a kepl a ntin g m a te ria ls ava ilab le to fa rm e rs. W es te rnKe nyan farm e rs' trad ition of p assin g v ine c uttin gsto ot he r fa rm e rs free of c harge s ho uld al so h e lpass ur e cont inu ed rap id diffusion. On-farm tr ia ldat a s ho we d th e new oran ge va rie ties sur v iveddrou ght we ll a nd h ad higher yie ld s th a n th etradition a l w hi t e va rietie s, both imp o rtant fac tor sfor th e ir su sta ine d c ultivation.

Resea rc he rs no te d th at simpl y di strib utin g be taca rot e ne ri c h va rie tie s of swee tp o ta toe s a ndpro v idin g minim a l support for th e ir produ c tio n didnot autom atic a lly e nhance th e nutrition a l sta tu s o f

youn g c hildr e n. Promotiona l ac tiv ities edu ca tin gw om e n in th e use a nd co nsumpti o n o f or a ngeswee tp o ta to we re c ritical in in creas ing t he v ita minA int a ke of youn g c hildren .

Th e in te rve nti o n stre ngthe ned wo m e n' s co ntr o l

o ve r so me of th e reso ur ces th ey need to fee d th e irfamili es a nd im p rove th e nutriti o na l sta tu s o ffam ily m e mb e rs, es pec ia lly youn g h ildr e n. On e oth e key less on s lea rn ed was that or nge -fles he dswee tp o ta to va rie ties are a dopted 1 os t w he nintr odu ce d w ithin th e co nte xt of ex e nsio n a ndedu ca tio n on fa mi ly hea lth and nut ition . M o th e rsmu st be co nv ince d th a t these n ew va rie ties a regoo d for th e ir ch ildr e n . In a for ewoncl to o ne of hi srep o rts, Dr. Cy ru s Nd iritu , d ire c to r f KARI,a ffirm ed th ese be nef its, wr iting: St r y res ul t sindi ca te th a t o ra ngefles he d s wee tp o ta to (inc ludinlea ves a nd swee tpo ta to -b as ecl foo d produ c ts a re

hi ghl y nutriti o us a nd ca n s ignifica n ly co ntribut e tyea r-ro un d a llev ia tio n o f v itamin A d e fic ie ncyamon g c hild re n und e r five y ear s o f age.


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Good food do e s not just co m e fro m gra in , notesCIP rur a l deve lopm e nt sp ec ia list Da i Pe te rs. Tomee t th e food dem a nds of th e futur e, a lte rn a tivec rop s mu st b e ex ploited. No co untry in the w orldha s do ne mo re to exp lo it th e po te nti a l inswee tp o tato th a n China. For 1995- 1997 China 'sswee tp o tato har ves t topp ed 7 milli o n tons a yea r,so m e 85 pe rce nt of the wo rld 's ha rves t. And at 48milli o n to ns, C hin a's potato c rop is seco nd tonone; w ith the br ea k up of th e Sov ie t Union , it isnow the wo rld 's larges t pot a to produ ce r.

Be twee n 2000 a nd 2020 , th e wo rld's p o pul a tionw ill inc rease by 1 .5 billion; ha lf of that growth w illta ke pl ace in Asia . China w ill acco unt for over 20perce nt of As ia s population grow th. For Ch ina tomaint a in its se lf-suff ic iency in food product ion,

pot a to a nd swee tpot ato crop s a re d es tin e d to pl ay akey ro le . China produce s no ya m s, a nd less th a n 4milli o n t ons of cassav a. With thi s in mind , CIP andChina have forged a partn e rship w hose resea rchres ul t s can be a ppli e d across Asia.

C IP 's co llabor a tion with Chin a goes back twodecades . In 1978 th e Chin ese Acade my ofAgricultura l Sc ie nces sent a sc ie ntific de lega tion to

IV ( S

CIP ; in turn, a C IP de lega tion vis ited majo r p o tatogrow ing reg ion s in China. Reg ular visit s by se nio rsc ie nti sts fo llowed. In 1985 th e Chine se Academya nd C IP s igned a n acco rd to set up a reg iona l C IPoffice in Be ijing. Subsequent ly, with th e a dditi o n ofthe sweet pot a to to CIP s m a nd ate, coo pe ra tio nint e nsified via ge rmpl as m exc ha nge , joint resea rc hprojec ts, wo rkshops, and tra ining.

. Success with weetpotato

Sic hu a n a nd Shan don g Pro vinces eac h pr od uceabout 17 million ton s of swee tpot ato es a year;to ge th e r, th ey acco unt for a lmost 40 p e rce ntof China's produ ct io n. In Sichuan, post-harvesttechnology, espec ia lly starch produ ction , is a ma jorpriority. Since 19 78 to w n ship e nte rpri ses have

inves ted in food pro cess ing. In th e m ea ntim e,die ta ry preferences in a mor e urb a ni ze d Chinahave s hifted . Dir ec t co nsumption of fres h roots, forexa mpl e, has dropped. Nonethe less, sweetpotatooutput has he ld stea d y, bol ste red by dema nd fromth e s ta rc h indu stry. M os t of Sichu an s sta rc h is so ldas w et ca kes for noodl e production . Beca us e s tarchth at is off-w hit e a nd filled w ith as h impuri tiesmak es a n un attra ct ive pr oduct , di sg runtl e d urba n

Two decades

o CIP s

collaborationwith China

have led to

major benefits

to Chinese

agriculture, and

to insights that

will benefit the

world s poor.

Sweetpotato vines are animportant source offodder for dairy cows.


18/72

16

Figure 1.Average annualgrowth rates in

production and areaof selected food s

crops in China,1985 - 87 to 1995 97 .

Figure 2 .Comparison of actual

potato productionin China to FAO

projection.

Figure 3 .Average annual

growth ratespercent) forsweetpotato

in China calculatedin 10-year interval s

from 1961 97.

Growth(%)

-2.0

Potat o

Whea t

Mai ze

0.0

Sweetpotato

Paddy r ice

2.0

___J

Area

4.0

Driedsweetpotato

slices.

6.0 8.0

f l Production

Sourc e: FAOSTA T (Febr u ary 199 9 , accesse d March 1999)_

000 t)

120.000

100.000 - - .u l prod uct ion {FAOST AT,Feb 199 9 accesse d Ma rch 1999 ) e

80.000 - - -Ex rapolalion

60.000 FA0 2 0 10p rojection

40 .000 . . . . .l t I 1 - 1 I J 1---. - 1- 1 . -1

20.000 r--- - 0 -

1989

- -- - - _J__1993 1997 200t 200 5 2010

Sour ce: Actual 198 9- 97 (FAOS TAT , Feb ru a ry 1999 ) wi thex trap o lat ion to 201 O; FAQ 20 10 projection (FAO .

Growth rate (% )

6.05.0

4.0 -3.0

2.01.00.0 -

-1.0-2 .0 --3. 0-4.0-5 .0

10 15*0- year intervals

20 25

) 1 = Average ann ual growth rate 196 1-6 3 to 19 71 -7 3; 2

=Average an nu al grow th rat e 1 962-64 to 1972-74; 25 =Av e rage a n nua l growth rate 1985-87 to 1995-97.Source : Scott , G. J., M. W. Roseg rant, and C. Ringler. Roots

nd Tuber s for the 2 51 Century: Trend s Pr ojec tion s an dl i y for Dev e loping Cou nt ries IFP RI Food , Agr icultur e

and th e En vir o n ment Di sc us sion Pape r. A co -p u bli ca tion o fthe Int e rn a tiona l Food Po licy Re se arch In stit ute (IFPRI) andC IP. Was hing to n , D.C. In p ress .

co n sum ers turn t omo re ex pe ns ive,w heat -b ase d pas ta s.Th e res u t is a ninc reased d em a nd forw hea t p rod uc ts th atChin a is hard -p resse dto m ee t. Fa rm e rs a lsouse swe tp otato as

M. 1wANA GA feed , p a tic ul a rly forpi gs. As e ith e r sta rc h o r fee d , swee t ot atosub stitut es for m o re ex pe ns ive g ra in .

Fo r th e pas t d eca de, C IP and th e S icm uanAca d em y o f Ag ricu ltu ra l Sc ie nces h a.-e wo rked o nimpr ov ing sta rc h q ua lit y. M a nu a l p rocess ing ha sg ive n way to s m a ll-sca le m ec ha nize ' e quipm e nt ,such as roo t wa sh e rs, grind e rs, ras p e rs , a nd drumse para to rs. C IP an d its S ic hu an co llabo rato rsiden tified th e va riabl es in ex trac t io n, such as th em es h size used fo r sep a ratio n, th at h ad th egrea tes t im pac t o n qu a lit y. A w h ite , Ure star chfe tches a highe r pri ce a nd impr oves , in turn , th eq ua li ty o f product s dow n th e line. Tra nspa rentnoo dl es a re a case in p o int.

With b ac kin g from CIP, the Sic hu a n A ca de m ydeve lo ped a m oto r-dri ve n sc rew ex trud e r in t ow hic h th e ho t swee tp o ta to dou gh is pres sed . Th eres ult is a uni form , high-qu a lit y p rod uct w ith

be tte r m a rket app eal , a p rodu c t w ith ju st the rightviscos ity, op aquen e ss, a nd thi c kn ess. In Sa nt a iCo un ty, th e de ma nd for swee tp o tato proces sin ge quipm e nt has mo re th an d o ubl ed . In 1996, fo rexa mpl e, sa les of lo ca lly m ade roo t-was he rs,starc h se p a rato rs, and ex trud e rs to tale d ove r

180 ,000 . In th e m ea ntime, of th e 9 ,000 to ns o fsweetpo tatoes tha t Santa i Co unt y pr odu ce d , thep ropo rtion pr ocess ed in c re ased fro m 36 pe rce nt to76 pe rce nt , o r to som e 69 ,0 00 to ns. Th e res idu eswe re recyc led into a nim a l fee d . Sa n i C o unt yno w ra ises 0 ,000 p igs, a 70 p erce nt in c reaseove r 1989 .

In Sha nd o ng Pr ovince , Ch inese sc ien tists usetiss ue c ultu re propaga tio n a nd ELISA tests toe li m inate viru ses from swee tp o tato p lantin g s to ck.Th e pr ojec t d a tes bac k to 1987 , w h e n CIPcondu cted a s ma lI co ur se o n virus de tec tio n. Ati ss ue c ultur e work sh o p fo llowe d th e nex t yea r.


19/72

Agrarian Transformation UndergroundPotato and Sweetpotato n China

China's produ ct ion of over 48 mi IIion tons of pot a to and over 7 mil lion ton s of sweetpotato m a ke it the world'sla rgest produ ce r of both these commodities. More re markabl e s till, China no w accounts for 24 percent of global

po t ato production a nd 85 percent of the wo rld 's swee tpotato output o n a n annual average basis (FAOSTAT , Jun e1998 ). In China itse lf, sweet potato a nd potato curr e ntl y rank as th e s e co nd and fifth mo st imp o rta nt food crops inte rms of annual production.

otato

The average annual growt h rate in po t ato production in China over the las t dec ade ha s been hi ghe r than any of theother major food crops (Fig. 1 . In fact, th e g ro wt h r ate in potato production in China for the las t 35 years has beena n ex traordin ary 3 9 percent. So mu c h so tha t the ga p b e twee n FAO projections and actual output has becomeincreasingly appa rent in the last d eca de (F ig . 2). Th e g row th rate in a rea planted has also excee d ed that of theot he r princip a l co mm o diti es for the l ast 10 years, proving m o re imp or ta nt than yields in susta inin g the expansionin potato output. Ev id ence from China a nd other parts of Asi a point s to two critical rea so ns for this remarkableex pansion in po tato o utput.

First, as incom es have improved and urb a ni zat ion h as accelerated with eco nomic growth in China, consumershave sought to diversify their food int ake beyond a st rictly cereal-based diet. Chinese, as w ith co nsumers almosteve ryw here , li ke the taste of potatoe s. Th ei r n e utr a l fla vo r m ake s potatoes a facile and comp le m e ntar y in gre di e ntin local dish es that rely o n traditional spi ces a nd other foods for a co lo rful app ea rance a nd t aste. Moreover, th efas t-food rest a ur a nt boom that started in H o ng Kong and Tai wa n no w has spr ea d throughout Chin a . Onceconsidered a high -p riced, luxury dish , fre nc h-fri es a re fast becomin g a popular item not only in res taurants run byinternational chains, but also in Chinese-operated eat ing establishments and supermarkets.

Second, po t a to is a profitable crop fo r sm a ll fa rm e rs. Given the pl ant s versatility, potato ca n thrive in thete mper a te and mount a in o u s growing a reas in the north e rn part of the co untry , as well as in th e drained p addyfields and hill y parts mor e characteristic of se mi -tropical , southwestern China. Moreover, w ith the introduction of

impro ve d germplasm, th e g ro w th rate in y ie lds ha s ac tuall y accelerated as a rea plant ed h as expa nd ed in recentyears. This tr e nd suggests that with better technology, in certain parts of th e country pot ato is be in g plant ed inst ea dof c rops such as rice o n the more favorable land, as farmers a re switching to higher-valu e crops in an effort toca pture greater in co m es .

Sweetpotato

Inco me growth a nd urb ani za tion ha ve had perhaps a n eve n mor e inte res tin g impact on sweet po ta to - although thi simpact has been s lo we r to affect gro wt h r ates in production and a rea planted. W ith eco nomi c expa nsion ,co nsumers in China have a lso incr eased their d e ma nd for m ea t a nd pro cesse d products. In the case ofsweet potato, this shift in consumption mea ns that swee tpotato ha s been increasingly utili ze d as a source ofpigfeed - both roots a nd vines. During 199 5-97 some 30 to 50 million tons of sweetpotato roots a lone served thi spurpose. So it is no m e re coincidence th at:

China is no w th e world s largest pi g producer; over 80 per ce nt of pig production tak es pl ace a t the hous e hold or v il lage leve l; the largest pi g-produ c ing province in China is Sichuan; Sichuan is a maize-deficient pro v ince; Sicnuan Provin ce a lon e produces mor e swee tpotato than all other developing countri es co mbin ed; and in recent years, a grow ing proportion of sweet pot ato production in Sichuan has been u se d to feed pigs.

In effect, small farmers in Sichuan, as in other parts of China , have respo nd ed to shifts in eat in g h ab its bytra nsforming sweetpotatoes into meat, capt urin g th e va lue-add ed at the household leve l. In doing so, they


20/72

essen t ia lly us e sweerpo tato as o n e co mp o ne nt in an overa ll str a tegy to su stain food secur ity at the fa rm a ndnat ion a l leve l.

A parallel phenomenon h as been the grow th in sweetpotato processing for bot h food a nd n o n- food products.Recent research in both Shandong a nd Sichuan Provinces points to a booming demand fo r sweetpota to sta rch inthe form of noodles , both for domestic cons umpti on and for expo rt Procedures for extracting r c h from roo sat t he vi llage level includ e th e u se of by-products in the for m of sta rch-free sweetpotato mash for feed. Thi spractice s uggests a symbiot ic rat he r than co mp etitive relation between the new uses of sweetpotato .

Given these e mer ging markets for sweetpota to in its processed form, recent estimates of growt h rates inp rod u ct io n and area planted for this crop reflect a sharp reversal of ea rlier down w ard trends (Fig . 3). it hfurt he r impro veme n ts in potato and sweetpotato productivity , and with processing on lin e for diffusion in th eyea rs a h ead, China s agrarian transfo rmation und ergrou nd is wel l positioned for fu rther expans ion in thenew mill en ium.

China, 997GDP per p rson [yuan]

C J Over 5000

C J 4000 5000C J Under 5000

Potato 2500 ha Sweetpotato 5000 ha 0

kilometers1000

N

+By overlaying potato and swee tpotato production with GDP, we can see that these crops are providingfood where it is sorely needed.

R HIJM NS


21/72

Held at the Sweetpotato Research Ce nte r of theXuzhou Institute o f Agricultura l Science inShandon g Provin ce, CIP and the Asi an Ve geta bleResea rch and Development Center (AVRD C) co

sponsored th e co urse. The ada ptive resea rchprovidin g th e basis for an inno va tive see dprop agat io n program was ca rried out by theSweetpotato Pro g ram of th e Crops ResearchInsti tute of th e Shandong Academy of Agricu ltu ra lSci ences. Th e Sweetpotato Prog ram has bee nstron g ly supported by th e Prov inc ia l Governmentof Shandong. Thi s su pport h as bee n cr itica l to th ewi esp rea d diffusion of c lea n plantin g mat e ria l.Tod ay, the work is spon sore d by th e ShandongAcadem y of Agricultural Sciences.

Sci e nti sts ge ne ra te viru s-free plantlets from

meri ste m tip culture i n o rd e r to obtain vinecuttings. Starting with ju st 500 pl a ntlets th e f irstspring, the proj ect produ ce d enou gh foundat ionseed to cove r 6.7 hec tar es in vines by the seco ndspring. In turn , c utting s from the se vines ge ne ra ted100 h ec tar es o f roots, or so me 3 000 tons of see d.By th e third sp rin g, the project had e no ugh stock toplant over 13, 000 hectar es . Thank s to thi s effo rt,the pro vince's farmers began to pl a nt virus-freeswe e tp otato es in 1994 . Th e impa ct o n yie lds wasdram atic; th e ave rage produ ctivity adva nt ageacross nine sites and five va rie ties was over 40

percent. The added output r equire s no additiona l

ferti lize r, wate r, or c hange in fa rmin g methods.Almost any fa rm e r who u ses viru s-free m ate rialgets highe r yields. In 1998 , Sh and o ng fa rm e rsplanted ha lf a milli on h ec ta res of viru s-free

sweetpotatoes , or abo ut 80 pe rce nt of theprovince's tot a l. An es timated 3.1 milli o n fa rmfami lies benefited from the added yie ld s, va lued at$ 133 million a yea r. In Shandong , sweetpotatostarc h, espec ia lly for noodle-m akin g, is a g rowthindustry. Currently, ha lf Shandong's output go es toth e loca l starch industry.

As a stap le food, sweetpo tato ca n b e eate n fresh ordri ed in th e sun for su b seq uent u se. Both roots andvines make an exce lle nt animal feed. In many pa rtsof China , howeve r, sweetpo tato s future is linked toits multipl e s tarc h transformations: noodl es,

ver mice lli, a nd shee t je lly; refined sta rch; sta rchderivatives (am ylophosphate, a mylum ace ta te, andso lubl e sta rch); a nd sta rch residu es (fodder, malto seand suga r res idue s, brew ing produ cts). Th at beingthe case , breed ing for high dry-matter co ntent ,whi ch irec tly adds to the amount of sta rchex trac ted , is a top priority for C IP and Chin esebreeders. According to D apeng Zhang, CIP plantbree de r and proje ct lea de r th e o bjec tive is toproduc e mor e usabl e ma te rial in eve ry sweetpotato. The recove ry rate for starch ave rages abo ut15 pe rce nt (by we igh t) of th e unp ee led fres h roots.Sweetpotato variet ies w ith enou gh dry matt e r to

G . CHANG

Potato has made adifference n people sdiets in China; n twodecades, the country sproduction of this crophas almost doubled.

1


22/72

2

boost sta rch r ecove ry by just 5 pe rce nt to 2pe rce nt could add a n impre ssive o n e -third to th etota l ext racted. Va rieta l selection is done incoo peration w ith C hina 's Swee tpot a to Rese a rc h

Ce nte r in Xuzhou , ia ngs u Pro vince.

Not o nl y is Chin a th e w orld ' s top swee tpotatoproducer , but th e c rop is dispers e d across fivedistinct climati c zo nes . Sweetpot a to is rarely th emain crop. China's far mers plant th e m in elabor a terotatio ns w ith gra in s (rice , w h ea t, co rn , mill e t), o ilseeds , sesa m e, a nd asso rted l eg um es (soybe a n s,peanuts , field p eas, broad b ea n s . In so me zones ,inte rcro pping pre va ils , w ith sweetpota toes onrid ges a nd corn or peanuts pl a nted in the furro wsb e twee n. Rotati o n s h e lp impro ve so il structur e,co ntr ol pes ts , a nd fos te r soil fert ility. lntercroppin g

m ax imi zes th e use of space , di st ribut es labor ,a nd increase a fie ld s ove rall produ c tiv ity. CIPscie ntists ha ve much to learn from how Chin a 'sfa rm e rs man age th e ir fields , inform a tio n vitalto Asia ' s food production.

rogress wit h otato

Chi na tod ay is th e larges t global u se r of CIPge rmplasm. For th e potato , ge rmpl as m exchan gedat es b ack to 1978, the year CIP-24 e ntered Chin aas a n in-vitro plantlet. The Wumen g Ag ricultur a lResea rc h Institut e in Inner Mo n gol i a did thepr opaga tion a nd fie ld trials. Thi s h a rdy , drou ghtto le ran t culti va r is cur re ntl y produc e d on o ve r150 ,000 hect a res. CIP ge rmpl asm still contributesto va rie ta l de ve lopme nt in China. CIP entries a reeva luate d in multil oca tional trials ac ross northChina a t both Wumeng and Yanqin g sta tion s.Sel ec tion criteria in c lude re sista nce to late bli ghta nd bacterial w i It, p lu s ea rly m aturit y anddrought toleran ce.

Almost 40 per ce nt of China ' s potato c rop isprodu ce d in the north in a one- c rop-per-year

sys te m . Farm ers repea t potato es o r rotate to w hea t,oats , or buckwh ea t. Further south , potato is sow n

as a fall or w inter c rop th a t follo ws w heat o r paddyric e. To be profitable , far m ers ne ed a rly maturingva riet ies. In 1991 , CIP 's Philippine-ba se dUPW ARD ne tw ork (Use rs Pe rspe ctive w ith

Agricultur a l Re sea rc h a nd D eve lopm e nt ) began apot a to production proj ec t for the ric e- b ase dcroppin g sys tems of Zh e ji a ng Pro v in e. Th eprin c ip a l resea rcher wa s Zhang Re nti n of theZhejian g Acade m y of Ag ric ultural s ce nces . So far ,th e proj ec t h as introdu ce d tec hnolo g th at shortensthe po t a to s gro w ing seaso n; it has a lso mo ved see dmultipli ca tion to the hi ghl a nds , w h e re diseasepre ss ur e is less, and it h as o rganized m o re than 350trainin g sess ions for 18,000 fa rmers . potatorotation impro ves sub sequen t ric e y i Ids. Combin-in g th e two crops , food production p e r uni t of landarea has m o re than doubl e d.

In Chin a's so uthern pro v in ces, int e ro oppingpot atoes wi t h other crops is commo pl ace . InSichu a n Pro vince , th e co untr y' s lar ges t potatoprodu ce r, 80 percent of th e potato crop isintercr o pp e d w ith co rn: th e potatoes in th efurrow s, the co rn on th e ridges . Wh e it co mesto rot atio ns a nd int e rc ropp ing, Chin a{s potatofarmer s a re the e xperts.

artners in rogress IIn 1978, w hen CIP a nd C hina be ga n c ollaboration ,the co untr y's total potato h a rvest was es tim a ted a t25 milli o n tons. Two d eca d es lat e r, hin a 's production h as a lmost doubl ed . For sweetp tato , w hichwas a dd e d to CIP 's mand ate in 198 5 tot a l production first fe ll in the 1980s a nd ha s bee n stea di l yrisin g s in ce th e early 1990s. What c ha nged themo st was the sweetpot a to ' s utilizati on. On a freshweig ht b as is, sweetpotato is China's seco nd mo stimport a nt c rop after rice; th e potat o s ranke d fifth.To bolst e r its food production , China nee dsits pot ato a nd swee tp otato c rops . Workin g together ,China a nd CIP ha ve mu c h to learn , and much

to offer eac h other.


23/72

. # " .. _ :'' f II r\A decade ago, maca was a litt le-k nown root grownby so me of Peru's poorest and most iso la tedsub sistence far me rs . Today it i s o ne of the co untry 'smo st promising agr ic ultur a l expo rts .

Until rece ntl y, ullu co was found o nly in mark e ts afew month s eac h yea r. Now the co lorfu l tube r ca nbe fo un d v irtua lly yea r-round in th e m ost fas hio nab le sup e rmarkets in Lima.

Cr ispy, fructa n-ri ch yac6n used to b e a sweet sec reta mong Andea n hi ghland ers. Today that secret isbeing shared with dieter s a nd diab et ics as fa r awayas Braz il a nd J apa n.

Th ese are just so me of the And ea n root a nd tubercrops, stud ied and co nse rved by C IP and its

partn e rs , that ha ve rece ntl y begun to find their wayo ut of tiny backyard plo ts and into reg ional,n at iona l, a nd international mark e ts.

The Maca Craze

Cultiv ated above 4,000 mete rs of e leva tion in asmal I a rea in cent ra l Pe ru , m aca h as bee n us ed forcentu ries to st imul a te hu m a n a nd a nim a l fe rti li ty,w hi c h is nat ur a lly red uce d by hi gh a ltitu des. Th efew scie nti fic tests performed o n m aca befo re th emi d - l 990s see med to be a r o ut this traditionalknowl edge-a point th at was not lost o n themarket -w ise Pe ru via n pharmac e uti ca l co mpanyQuimic a Sui za.

Wo rkin g c lose ly with CIP, Quimica Sui za h asinvested more than 1 million in maca r esea rcha nd product development sinc e 1994. Compa nyof f icia ls say they have found that m aca not o nlyimpr oves m a le a nd femal e fertility , but a lsoinc reases e ne rgy a nd relieves stress. In 1998, onth e stre ngth of these c laim s, Q uimi ca Su izaexported abo ut $80,000 wo rth of m aca tabl e ts toJapa n, Europe, a nd the Unit ed Stat es . Th e company

is hop ing to increase foreign sa les to $1 milli on in1999.

As inter es t in the root h as grow n, a num be r ofot he r entrepreneu rs have jump ed o n the ba ndwagon, quickly co nce iving, m an ufactu rin g, andm a rketi ng maca-based produ c ts ra nging fromliqu o rs and ca ndi es to flour s a nd medicinal

capsul es . The sudde n rise in demand for the c rophas tran sfo rm ed th e eco no my aro und Per u 's La keJunin . The land a rea planted in m aca grew fromju st 200 he cta res in 1995 to abo ut 1 ,500 by th ee nd of 1998, a nd th e Ag ric ultur e M ini st ry hop es tosee that figure rise to near ly 3,000 in 1999 .

Other Promising Products

CIP ha s played an imp ortant ro le in the grow th inth e ulluco mark e t in Peru, hav ing he lped loca lprodu ce rs build a nd operate a modern storagefacility near Hu anca yo. Using technology firstdeve loped for potatoes, the facility a llowsprod ucers to se ll their product in Lim a durin g thesumm er month s, w he n suppli es are lowe r a ndpri ces are high.

Of f -seas on ullu co may soo n h e lp boost inco m es inBolivia as we ll. A CIP collabo rat ion wi t h researchers at Sa n Simon Un ive rs ity in Coc habamba ha sresult ed in p rod uct ion, o n a pilot sca le, of attra ctive ly-packaged ulluco flakes. Th e new produ ctshould give co nsumers access to this nutri tiousfood throughout the year w hil e he lpin g stab iliz eprices for fa rm ers .

CIP sc ie n tists, work ing wi t h co llaborato rs atInte rn at iona l Ce nte r for Tropical Agr ic ul tur e (CIAT )and other institution s, a re cu rre ntl y tes ting th em arket viab ility of a number of cottage industryprod ucts mad e from Andean root s a nd tub e rs inseveral locat ions in Peru, Ecuador, and Bo liv ia .Pa rtic ul ar ly prom ising is ra llado , a t radition a lsweet mad e from a rracac ha and sugarcane sy rupand consumed du rin g fiestas . Other products t hathave been studi ed or tested for their co mm e rc ialpotenti a l inc lude oca jam , oca-based baby food,mashua-based pest ic ides, a nd yac6 n pickl es, teas,c hi p s, a nd ice c rea m (see box).

The iodiversity Ques tion

One of the goa ls of C IP 's And ea n root and tube rpro gram is to e nsure the lo ng-t er m su rviva l ofcrops that have traditionally pl ayed little or no ro lein reg io na l a nd national ma rke ts.Commer c ia lizat ion is often touted as the answer tothe thre a t aga inst biodiversity - th e idea be ing thatif fa rm e rs can not se ll th eir cro ps, they w ill

One of the

goals of CIP's

Andean root

and tuber

program is to

ensure the

long-term

survival of crops

that have

traditionally

played little or

no role in

regional nd

national

markets.

2


24/72

eve ntuall y be forced to stop g ro w ing them. Yet th eeffects of com merci al iza tion on biodiversity a re nota lways positive. This is most c lear ly se e n in majorco mmodit ies such as maize , w he at , and potatoes,in w hich market demands dictate that ju st a fewse lect va riet ies dominate.

Th e same cou ld h appe n with the lesse r-kn ownroots and tubers. If industrial baby food processorsrequire only one va riety of oca, for inst a nce, it ispossible that mark et-orie nt ed farme rs w ho havealways grow n oca w ill begin to plant only thatcom mer cia lly desirable variety . This i s potentiallytrue for most other traditional Andean crops , w ho sedifferent va rieties ofte n displ ay markedly differentc h arac te rist ics.

So fa r, ho wever , st udi es co ndu cted by C IP and it spartners indicate th at the lo ss of traditional Andeancrop varieties has been minim a l despite the trendtoward in c re ased comme rcializ ation. Thi s is in partbecause non-commercial va riet ies a re excha ngedan d tran spo rted outside of their micro-cente rs ofor igi n much mor e freque ntl y and universally th a nresearchers had previously thought. Thus themarket-induced disappearance of a va riety fromone farm or v illag e gene rall y does not mean thatthe va riet y is ex ti net.

This is rein forced by the conservationist traditionsof Andean far mi n g. Economic studies show thatfew sm al I-scale Andean farmers a re strictlycomme rcia l gro wers. Rather, most maintain anumber of preferred traditional c rops and var ieti esfo r family or ritual u se, as we ll as for ge neticin suran ce aga inst drought or other stresses. Yet thisco uld change as m arke t dem a nd s reac h moreremote a reas. So w hil e CIP ' s Andean roots a ndtubers program promotes production a ndco mmer c ializatio n options that increase theincomes of small-scale gro we rs, o ne of its o ngoin gresponsibilities is to monitor the imp act of

com merc ial pressure on th ese fa rmer s, a nd o n th ege netic wea lth the y nurture and protect.

Useful oots Tubers

chira or Canna (Ca nna edulis).Grown in warm

Andean va lleys aswel l as in Vie tnam .

Usedmainly forindu stri alsta rch a nd

noodle

production

Roots a re a lso baked or boiled andeaten. Pudding made from starch isse rved to ch ildren a ndco n va lesce nts.

Ahipa Pachyrhizus ahipa). A

relati ve of Mexican ji ca m aP. erosus), grown in

subtropi ca l easternBolivia a nd north e rn

Argentina. Tubers a reconsumed fresh, likefruit. Hi gh in protein,sta rch , a nd sugars .Potenti al ly useful in starch

production

rracacha A rr c c i

xanthorrhiza). A rel at ive of bo thca rrot a nd ce ler y, producing a starchysto rag e root that rese mble s a pa rsnip.Boiled, fried, or baked for us e insoups, stews, and sa lads. Used ininstant baby foods a ndso ups , and as a basefor des serts. Youn gste ms can be us edin salads o r

cooked as avege tabl e.Leaves a re fedto livesto ck.


25/72

Maca Lepidium m e ye nii). Cultiva tedin ce ntr a Pe ru at

a ltitud es ofup to 4 ,400mete rs.Roo tsbe lieve d t op ossess fe rti I tye nha nc i ng pr o pe rties, a nd toimprove v it a li ty, me nt a lca pac ity, re produ ctive hea lth ,a nd immun e sy ste m r es po n se .Ca n be ea te n fr e sh o r pr ocesse dinto nutriti o na l suppl e m e nt s, flo ur,c and ies , jam s, or drin ks.

ashua Tropa eo lumtu be ros um . Ve ry highyie ldin g up t o 7 0 t o ns/hec ta re). Co nta in s natu ra lin sec tic id a l comp o und s,a nd ofte n pl a nt ed w ith o th e rc ro ps to prot ec t fie ld s fro mpes ts. So me tim es use d asmedi c ine fo r kidn ey a il m e nt sa nd as a diur e tic .

Mauka M ira bi/i s ex p a n sa ).Ancie nt c rop r e di scovere d b ysc ie nti sts in th e 196 0 s. Pro du cessucc ule nt edible ste m s a nd t as ty ro o tshigh in ca rbohydr a tes a nd pr ote in .Bo ile d o r b a ked and ea te n in so up s,stews , o r d esse rts. Fo liage high inpr o te in ,he noegoodfo dd e r

Exte nsive

root s yste ma nd lo ngdur atio nmake it u se fulfor eros io nco ntrol.

Oca Oxa lis tub e ros a . A m a jorstap le in p re-Co lumbi a n

tim es , ma inl y ea te n boil edin so ups a nd stews . Ve ryhigh yie ld ing up to 55to ns / hec ta re) . Hi gh insta rc h, m ine ra ls, a ndo rgan ic ac idsincl udin g so lubl e

ox la tes), h e n cesli g htly ac id i c intas te.

Ulluco U /lu c us tu b e ro su s . Co lo rfultub e rs a re cooke d in stews a ndso up s, o r dri ed as c hipsand sto re d fo rla te r u se .Leaveshigh inprotein ,ca lc ium , a ndca rote ne, a ndsimilar in tas tea nd t ex tu r e toM a laba r sp inac h Bas el / a a lba .

Yac n Sm a /la nthu s so n c hifo li u s .Natur a lly swee te ne d b y fru ctoo ligosacc har ides, w hic h a re no tmetaboliz ed by th e body, thus u se fulfor di abet ics. Roots eate n r aw ; ca nbe dried a nd m ade into c hip s o rpre pa red aspic kles.Po te nti a l rawma ter ia l forhigh-fru ctose sy rup s.Leav e s u se d as

tea, re put edto redu cebl oo d suga ra ndc ho les tero lleve ls.


26/72

CIP s collection

of ancient potato

varieties may helpreduce Andean

farmers need for

an increasingly

scarce and

precious

resource water.

Preliminar y trials point tothe enormous drought-

tolerance potential of thenativ e potato ger mplasm

held in trust by CIP.

4

On ce rega rd e d as a fre.e good, wat e r h as becomeone of th e m ost imp o rta nt limitin g fac to rs fac in gpotato g rowers. New stud ies condu c te d by C IP 'sSeed Un it in d icate that severa l c lones fro m theCent e r's g e neba nk prov ide good tub e r yie ldsund e r d ry co nd it io n s.

"Th e wo rld ' s th ir st for water is like ly to becomeo ne of the m os t pr ess in g reso ur ce issues of thetwe nt y-fir st ce ntur y , asser ts the Wo rldResour ces In stitut e . The seve rit y of rece nt ElNino a nd L a Nin a e pisodes in Latin Ame ri casupp ort w id e ly he ld theori es that th e p la n e t ise nt e rin g a per io d of incr eased c li m a ti c vo lat ility,m a rked b y cyc les of drought a nd excess iverai n fa ll. At th e sa m e tim e, rapid urb a ni zatio na n d po p ul at io n grow th c re ate un p rece d e nt ed

co mp e titi o n be twe e n domest ic wa te r u se rsa nd ag ric u ltur a l producers. In respo n se to thi s

C ROSS U

e m e rg in g prob le m , scie nti sts a re see kin gcrop va rie ti es th at nee d less irrigat ion , a ndag ri c ultur a l tec hn o log ies th a t use water

mo r e e ffic ie ntly.

C IP is doin g its part. By o ne way of rec ko nin g, itsm ajor m a nd ate cro p, potato , is a lready a n eff ic ie ntwa ter u se r. W he n grow n und e r coo l c lim ateco nditi o ns, potato p rod u ces m o re food per unit ofwa te r th a n a ny of th e o th e r bi g s tapl e c ro p sw hea t, rice , o r m a ize. But in a nother way, potato is

a wa ter hog. Mode rn c ultiva rs , bred o r m ax imumyie ld, tend t o re quir e fre qu e nt a nd sha llowirrigati o n. Thi s is es pec ia lly so durin g the period sof fast tuber deve lopment , after th e I af cove r ises tab lish ed- that is, mor e th an 40 d ays afte rplantin g nd w he n the po t atoes are grown ine nviron ments w he re eva potranspor a tio n is hi gh .

Th e answe r to th is di le mma , says C IR p la ntph ys io log ist Noe l Pa lla is, m ay lie w ithin th e ge nesof some 3 ,500 nat ive An de a n potato access io ns inC IP's ge ne ba nk. Th ough t hey have bee n co n se rvedfor mor e th an 30 yea rs, th e o e t e~p la nt m atte rha s not bee n thoroug hl y in vest igat ed

Now, says Pa lla is, mol ec ular biology te c hniqu esha ve c hange d th e tim e fram e fo r breeders to tra n sfe r

ge nes ra pid ly and ge t resu Its much sooner. "Thu s, itis now h igh t im e to begin pay ing atten tio n to th eunkn own va lue th at m ay lie w ith in our pot a toge rmpl as m ," he says.

CIP scre e ned 13 4 n a tive Ande a n l anolraces of e ightpotato spec ies that we re c ulti va ted befor e th eIncas. Th e a nc ient va riet ies we re p lamted, a lo ngw ith a co nt rol gro up of 78 modern , improvedc ultiva rs, a nd al l wa te r applications we re w ithh e ldafter the first 38 days. (There was no irrigat io n fromrai n, s ince th e e xpe rim e nt was carried o u t at C IPHeadq uarte rs o ut s ide Lima, w her e rai n is a nunu su a l ph e no m e no n .

Pal la is fo und th at seve ra l of the cl o nes had goo dyie lds und e r th e dry co nditions . This dro ughtadapti ve res pon se," th e resea rcher said , "was dueto a co mbin at io n of va luab le tra its" tha t inc lud edhi gh tot a l d ry m a tte r, ea rly bu lking, low tubernumb e r, a nd hi gh ha rvest ind ex (th e ra tio of ed ibl em a tter to leaves a nd ste m s .

All thi s points to th e usefu ln ess of furth e r sc ree nin ga nd r esearc h on pot a to va riet ies ' ab il ity to ex trac t,

transport , a nd us e th e wa ter that is a a ilab le in th eso il. Pa lla is ur ges th at it wo uld be w rth th eexpe nditur e to scree n a ll 3, 500 nati v And ea naccess ions. T hese sa mp les of plant materi a l thatha ve be e n resting in C IP' s ge nebank fo r decadesm ay now p lay imp o rta nt roles in a llev ia tin g thethir st of th e Ea rth in th e nea r futur e .


27/72

After years of growth, CIP's natural resourcemanagement (NRM) research has entered aflowering phase.

Using a variety of powerful data-gathering andanalytical tools, CIP scientists and theircollaborators have dramatically expanded theirunderstanding of complex highland ecosystems. Inmany places, the thrust is now in translating thatunderstanding into action.

In Cajamarca, Peru, years of data collection haveresulted in a comprehensive digital atlas of thearea . This atlas, completed in 1998, combinesagronomic information (cropping areas, soil types,water supply, slope, climate, etc.) with social andeconomic data. Government agencies and NGOswill use the digital maps to plan and implementdevelopment activities and infrastructureimprovements to combat poverty and decreaseland degradation. Similar atlases are now underconstruction for other key sites in the Andes.

In Carchi, Ecuador, CIP scientists are linkingmodels of soil processes, pasture quality, dairyproductivity, and crop growth with an economictradeoffs model quantifying the costs and benefits

of different scenarios in terms of health,productivity, profitability, and environmental

impact. This effort should result in specificrecommendations for land use and management inan important agricultural production zone, as wellas in methods that will help scientists and policymakers make sound decisions in other areas.

On the altiplano of Bolivia and Peru, CIP scientists,in collaboration with researchers from a variety ofnational and international institutions, have usedsatellite images and data from ground surveys tocreate large-area maps for frost risk and biomassproduction. These maps will be indispensable inefforts to increase crop and dairy production in oneof the western hemisphere's most depressed areas.

In the mountains of central and eastern Africa, CIPresearchers are working with other institutions aspart of the African Highlands Initiative, whichseeks to extend research findings and methods topoorly-studied areas, and to promote the idea ofintegrated rural development in complex mountainenvironments. CIP scientists are now linking

integrated pest management techniques with effortsto improve soil fertility on small potato farms, withthe goal of increasing productivity, reducingnutrient loss and helping control the spread of

crop diseases .

A Six-Year ush

Since its founding, CIP has been concerned withthe interaction between agriculture and theenvironment. Center scientists hav e worked toreduce the use of toxic chemicals, promote theconservation and use of agricultural biodiversity,and improve land-use practices associated withpotato and sweetpotato production systems.

However, CIP's commitment to NRM per se beganin 1992, around the time that the TechnicalAdvisory Committee of the CGIAR responded to

C il A RC H IVE S

the Rio Declaration on Environment andDevelopment with a set of guidelines to assistmembers in promoting sustainable agriculture.Environmental sustainability quickly became acornerstone of the Center's research agenda, notbecause of its trendiness, but because of the verynature of root and tuber production in thedeveloping world.

Unlike most cereal-producing areas, theenvironments in which potatoes and sweetpotatoesare grown are generally characterized bygeographical complexity. In the highlands of SouthAmerica, Africa, and Asia, diversity is the singlemost notable feature of the landscape. Soils,slopes, water availability, and even climate canvary dramatically within a small area.

ln th

highlands of

South AmericaAfrica and

Asia diversity

is th single

most notable

feature of the

landscape.

In the complex mountainenvironment of theAndes farming may bepracticed on steepmountain slopes orinterspersed

withdairying on irrigatedvalley floors and in highmountain pastures.


28/72

6

At th e same tim e, no ac tivity in a hi ghl a nd e nv ironm e ntoccurs in a vac uum. Poor wa ter manag e m e nt lea d s to so ilerosion ; so il e rosion lea ds to poor soil fert ility; poo r so ilfertility lea d s to low p rod uct ivity; low pr o du ct iv ity lea ds to

low fam ily in comes; low fa mil y incom es lead toenvironmental ly ina pp r o priate la nd-use decisions. In th emo un tains , eve ryt hin g is con necte d .

Fo r both th ese reaso ns- comp lexity and inter connectedness-so lu t io ns to p ro duction a nd e nv ironm e nta lcha lle nges mu st be based less on broad principles th an ondeta iled kno w ledg e a nd a s ubtl e und e rsta ndin g of theman y for ces a t pl ay in a ny g ive n pla ce.

Working n Partnerships

Natur a l reso ur ce manageme nt i s by na tur e a col la bo r ative

end eavor. No s ing le in st itution ca n fully dec iph e r th ecomp lex hum a n and p hys ica l rea lity of a loca le o r reg io n,presc ribe so lu t io ns to its prob lems, and fo l ow th ro ughwi t h th e impl e mentat io n of those sol uti o ns. Thu s, C IP haswo rked to c reate a numb e r of strateg ic partnersh ips, notonly w ith ot he r resea rc h institutions, but a lso w ith polic ymak ers a nd deve lo pm e nt organizations.

A lar ge part of C IP s NRM wo rk has been ca rried o utthrou g h th e Center s affi liation w ith th e Consortium forthe Sustainable Development of th e Andean Ecoreg ion(CONDES AN ), wh ic h CIP he lped fo und in 1 992 (see box) .C IP scien tists coordinate c losel y w ith th e COND ESANdi r ectorate , a nd p a rtic ipate in a numb e r of co llabo rat iveresearch activ ities .

CIP is a lso a fo undin g member of the G loba l Mount a inPro gram, w hi c h unit es the Center with the Afr ica nHi ghl ands Initia tive, the Internationa l Centre fo r Researchin Agroforestry (ICRA F), the Internation a l LivestockRese a rc h Inst itu te (ILRI), a nd th e Inte rn at io na l Center fo rInteg rated Mountain Deve lop me nt ICIMOD ). Founded in1997 , th e G loba l Mountai n Pro gram wo rks to lin k res ea rc hand de ve lopme nt initi at ives in the Andes , easte rn a ndcentral Africa, a nd th e Hi m alayan Kush .

Beca u se na tur a l reso ur ce management d epe nds so much o nloca l knowl e dge, ca pac ity -buildin g is a v ita l par t of C IP sNRM m a nd ate. Center sc ie nti sts have co ndu cte d wo rkshopsin the u se of nat ur a l reso urce ma nage m e nt tools fornat io na l resea rc h progra ms in Pe ru , Ec u ado r, Bo liv ia , a ndCo lomb ia. In 1998 , the Ce nt er he lped create MOSAndes , amulti-instituti o na l soil fe rtilit y resear ch netwo rk for theSouth America n hi ghl a nd s.

R QU ROZ nd S SAATCHt

A Well StockedTool Kit

In the last fi ve yea rs, CIP hasinveste d hea v ily in a numb e rof tools to e nh ance its NRM

resea rc h capac ity.Re t esens n g us esate I tephotogr aphradar, andoptica lim ages toint e rpr e t aw ide va rieof physi caa ndbiolo g icalfactors ofimportanc eto farme rsand poli cym a ke rs.Th esefacto rsin c lu d ee leva tion ;vege ta tiveco ve r; planh ea lth ;

sa l n izat ioand riskfrom

e rosion,frost,drought , orfloodin g. I1998 , C IPin sta lled a

sa te llite antenna that iscur re ntl y be in g used byco llabora tors in La Pa z,Bolivia. The Center a lso

ac quires ima ges from anumber of pro v ide rs inEurope, Japan, th e UnitedStates , and La in America.

omputer simul atio n m ode ls

predict the outcome of anynumber of ph ys ica l,biological , ec o nomi c ,m a na ge rial , o climatic


29/72

scenarios, whether at the farmleve l or over an ent ire region.Some of the models being

used at CIP hav e been madeavailab le by other institutions,some ha ve been adapted byCIP, a nd others have beenbuilt by Center scientists. Forinstance, researchers from CIPand ILRI hav e comb ined theresu lts of mor e than 100exper iments conducted in theAndean altiplano to create amathematical model forpasture and livestockin t eract ion s, wh i le researchersfrom CIP and the Inte

cip annual report 1998

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