Tubers were the talk of the town in Cusco, Peru during the week of May 27, when the 10th World Potato Congress (WPC) and the 28th Congress of the Latin American Potato Association (ALAP) were held together for the first time.

It evenemint luts mear dan 800 dielnimmers út 50 lannen nei it sintrum fan oarsprong fan 'e ierappel foar fjouwer dagen fan wittenskiplike presintaasjes, netwurken, fjildtochten en fiering fan it kulturele en ekonomyske belang fan' e ierappel.

The WPC is the most important international event for potato scientists and businesses. It is held every three years in a different country and is organized by the non-profit World Potato Congress Inc. and local partners.

De 10e WPC waard organisearre troch it Nasjonaal Ynstitút fan Perû foar Lânboukundich Innovation (INIA) – part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MINAGRI) – in collaboration with the International Potato Center (CIP), the National Agrarian University La Molina, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism and the Peru country office of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization FAO.

Dr. Oscar Ortiz, CIP’s Deputy Director General for Research and Development, noted that CIP played a prominent role in 10th WPC’s organization, participating in the scientific committee and arranging logistics among other things. More than 30 CIP researchers also gave presentations or chaired panels in the varied plenaries and technical sessions of the three-day event, or presented posters on their research.

2018 marked the first time that the World Potato Congress took place in Latin America – the continent that gave the potato to the world2018 marked the first time that the WPC took place in Latin Amearika, wêrtroch't it koe wurde hâlden yn 'e mande mei it ALAP Kongres.

The combined congresses took place in the Cusco Convention Center from May 27—31 and included plenary speeches by a list of experts that included Dr. David Nowell, FAO Agricultural Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean; Dr. Marco Bindi, of the University of Florence, Italy; Dr. Glenn Bryan, of the James Hutton Institute, UK; and CIP Director General Dr. Barbara Wells.

Potato-saakkundigen fan oer de hiele wrâld diene mei oan technyske sesjes oer sân tema's: klimaatferoaring en ierdappelsystemen foar agro-iten; trends yn konsumpsje en merken; ferskaat ûntwikkeling en biotechnology; pesten en sykten; gewaaksbehear; post-rispinge en ferwurkjen technology; en ierdappeldiversiteit en har relaasje ta fokken, fieding en sûnens.

The best presentation in each of those themes was given an award, three of which were bestowed on CIP wittenskippers.

Dr. David Ellis, the head of the CIP Genebank, was recognized for his presentation “Towards an Increased Understanding of Genetic Relatedness in Cultivated Potato,” in which he described the results of genotyping CIP’s entire collection of potato germplasm and their implications for improving potato taxonomy.

Entomologist Jürgen Kroschel won an award for his presentation on research by CIP scientists to predict how climate change will affect the risk of crop loss to potato pests in the Andes in the coming decades.

En agraryske ekonoom Graham Thiele, direkteur fan it CGIAR-ûndersyksprogramma oer woartels, knollen en banaan (RTB), sketste bewiis fan klimaat-tûke, duorsume lânboupraktiken yn 'e Andes tidens de pre-Kolumbiaanske riken fan' e Wari en Inca - lykas terras om boaiem- en wetterbehear te ferbetterjen - en ferbûn se mei de needsaak fan in twadde agraryske revolúsje yn 'e 21e ieu om Andeske boeren te helpen omgean mei klimaatferoaring.

While the technical sessions and plenary presentations make the WPC and ALAP Congress must-attend events for potato scientists, CIP and RTB wanted to provide an opportunity for Peruvian students in agricultural sciences to experience the event. They consequently created a scholarship fund and sent out a call for applications to Peru’s top universities.

In totaal fan 15 studinten en resinte ôfstudearden fan sân Peruaanske universiteiten waarden beurzen takend, dy't har registraasjekosten en reiskosten dekken, en se in ûnferjitlike wike levere oan bleatstelling oan 'e snijflak fan ierappelwittenskip.

World Potato Congress 2018 was inaugurated on May 28 by the President of Peru, Martín VizcarraIn addition to the vast array of scientific knowledge shared during the week of WPC 2018, the two congresses and associated events generated significant interest across Peru and enjoyed ample participation by government officials.

De jûn fan 27 maaie waard in wolkomstcocktail oanbean foar dielnimmers oan 'e binnenpleats fan Coricancha, in eardere Incan Temple of the Sun dy't de Spaanske feroverers bekearden ta in katolike tsjerke. Neist WPC-organisatoaren en dielnimmers waard it evenemint bywenne troch Perû's earste fise-presidint, Mercedes Aráoz, en minister fan Lânbou en yrrigaasje, Gustavo Mostajo.

WPC 2018 waard de moarn fan 28 maaie ynhuldige troch de presidint fan Perû, Martín Vizcarra, dy't Aráoz, Mostajo, direkteur fan 'e INIA Miguel Barandiaran, de presidint fan' e regio Cusco, Edwin Licona, en de boargemaster fan Cusco, Carlos Moscoso waard begelaat.

Vice president Aráoz later visited CIP’s booth in the convention center, whereas Minister Mostajo convened a meeting of ministers and high-level officials from the agriculture ministries of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador to discuss regional cooperation to strengthen native potato conservation and farming in the Andes.

Trije drokke dagen

De twadde dei fan WPC 2018 begon mei in ynspirearjende taspraak fan ambassadeur Kenneth M. Quinn, presidint fan 'e World Food Prize Foundation, dy't de dielnimmers rôp om de útdaging oan te gean om de mear as njoggen miljoen minsken te fieden dy't de Ierde yn 2050 sille bewenje ,

This was followed by a plenary session chaired by Peru’s Vice Minister of Agriculture, Juan Risi. It began with a presentation by Máximo Torero, the World Bank’s Executive Director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, who outlined the potato market’s potential and the major constraints faced by developing countries. CIP researchers André Devaux and Miguel Ordinola then presented their experiences with innovations for harnessing Peru’s extraordinary potato biodiversity to improve food security, nutrition and incomes.

Day two of the WPC also marked the beginning of the “Imagine a World without Potatoes” campaign, through which CIP will partner with businesses to raise awareness of the potato’s importance and generate greater demand for it. The campaign launch brought together representatives of agricultural businesses and other organizations who listened to presentations by Vice President Aráoz, Joaquín Lozano, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Director for Latin America and the Caribbean; Cedric Porter, Editor of the World Potato Markets Bulletin; and Romain Cools, President of WPC Inc., among others.

De sprekkers en publykleden entûsjasten har oer it potensjeel fan 'e kampanje foar it ferbetterjen fan it imago fan' e ierappel wrâldwiid.

WPC 2018 officially ended the evening of May 29 with the awards session and the announcement that the 11th World Potato Congress will be held in Ireland in 2021. The completion of the 10th WPC was celebrated that night with a cocktail party at the San Francisco Church and Convent, a seventeenth-century monument packed with Spanish colonial artwork.

That event included a ceremony in which the WPC, MINAGRI and INIA presented CIP agronomist Alberto Salas with an award for his decades of work collecting samples of the potato’s wild relatives across the Americas for conservation in the CIP Genebank and use by potato breeders.

A posthumous award was also given to the brother of Carlos Ochoa, who worked for CIP during the 1970s and ‘80s and authored various books about the potato varieties and their wild relatives in South America.

CIP agronomist Alberto Salas was presented with an award for his decades of work collecting samples of the potato’s wild relatives across the Americas for conservation in the CIP Genebank and use by potato breeders. Mear prizen ...Hoewol de 10e WPC einige op 29 maaie, gie de kennisdieling de oare moarns troch yn 'e workshops fan it 28ste ALAP Kongres, mei presintaasjes oer resinte ûntjouwingen yn behear fan ierappelslachtroer, behâld yn situ en weardekeatlingen foar lytse boeren en kulinêre ynnovaasjes.

De lêste workshop omfette in koksdemonstraasje troch Virgilio Martínez - dy't yn 2017 waard útroppen ta de bêste chef fan 'e wrâld - en in diskusje oer hoe't de gastronomyske boom fan Perû kin wurde brûkt om it libben yn' e lânseigen ierdappelboeren te ferbetterjen.

Doe't de saakkundigen sprieken, brochten tsientallen pleatslike boeren keapers lânseigen ierappels oan op stands op Plaza Regocijo, foar it Cuzco Convention Center, op in merke fan 'e Native Potato Biodiversity fan Perû organisearre troch MINAGRI yn' e fiering fan 'e Nasjonale Potato Day.

While shoppers purchased potatoes to the sound of folk music on the plaza, ALAP members convened inside the convention center in the afternoon for the Association’s bi-annual meeting, in which CIP potato breeder Elisa Salas was reelected President of ALAP for a second two-year term.

CIP potato breeder Elisa Salas was reelected President of ALAP for a second two-year term
In útwreide fiering

Neist de aktiviteiten fan it WPC en ALAP Kongres hâlden oare organisaasjes sydeveneminten dy't mear belangstelling generearren foar de ierappel. De earste wie de frijlitting fan it boek "The Potato: Pride of Peru" publisearre troch San Ignacio de Loyola University (USIL foar syn namme yn it Spaansk).

Eardere fise-presidint Raúl Diez Canseco kaam by de auteurs fan it boek by it evenemint 25 mei, dat waard hâlden yn 'e binnenpleats fan it koloniale gebou fan USIL yn it hert fan it histoaryske Cusco. Miguel Ordinola, dy't de yntroduksje fan it boek skreau, stelde fêst dat sokke publikaasjes troch it markearjen fan lânseigen ierappels fan Perû de fraach kinne stimulearje, en dus profitearje kinne fan de lytsboeren dy't se groeie.

Op snein 27 maaie sammelen wittenskippers út 'e heule Amerika's yn Cusco gear foar in gearkomste fan it Latynsk-Amerikaansk Netwurk foar Late Blight Research, bekend as de Red Tizón Latino. Dit wie de tredde gearkomste fan 'e Reade Tizón Latino, dy't waard oprjochte yn Bogotá, Kolombia yn 2014 om ûndersyk te koördinearjen oer dy gewessykte op regionaal nivo, en waard modeleare nei it Jeropeeske ûndersyksnetwurk EuroBlight.

Dyselde deis setten studinten en professors fan USIL's School of Hotel Administration, Tourism and Gastronomy in Guinness-wrâldrekôr op troch de grutste causa fan 'e wrâld ta te rieden - in populêr Peruviaansk foargerjocht makke fan aardappelpuree krûd mei limoensop en giele paprika's lagen oer in vulling fan grienten en mayonaise. De kausa fan 590 kg, 1.5 meter waard taret, werjûn en opfretten troch in iverich publyk op 'e kampus fan' e Nasjonale Universiteit San Antonio de Abad fan Cusco.

Op woansdeitejûn 30 maaie hat fise-presidint Aráoz in diner hâlden tegearre mei Marie Haga, direkteur fan 'e Crop Trust, foar in selekte groep bedriuwslieders en fertsjintwurdigers fan ynternasjonale organisaasjes. It diner wie ûnderdiel fan it Food Forever Initiative, in ynternasjonale poging om bewustwêzen te ferheegjen fan 'e urginsje fan it behâld fan gewaaks en fee-ferskaat, en wie spesifyk rjochte op it krijen fan bedriuwssektor stipe foar it behâld fan ierdappeldiversiteit.

CIP Director General Dr. Barbara Wells attended the dinner, together with Executive Officer Amalia Perochena and Genebank Head David Ellis. Dr. Wells took advantage of the occasion to tell the other guests about CIP’s history of conserving potato biodiversity, and its interest in partnering with businesses.

Mercedes Aráoz, First Vice President of Peru, Barbara Wells, Director General of CIP and Maarten de Voogd, Potato Global Crop Manager, YaraEkskurzjes

De presintaasjes, posters en workshops fan it WPC 2018- en ALAP-kongres waarden oanfolle mei in fjilddei op 31 maaie, doe't kongresdielnimmers de kâns hiene om mei te dwaan oan ien fan 'e twa reizen organisearre nei plakken dy't bekend wiene foar har patatbeskerming en -ûndersyk: it Potato Park en INIA's Andenes Experimental Station.

It Potato Park is in gearwurking fan seis lânseigen boeregemeenten en de Peruaanske non-profit ANDES-feriening wijd oan behâld yn situ, dielnimmend ûndersyk en it duorsum gebrûk fan sawat 1,400 lânseigen ierappelrassen.

Dejingen dy't it Potato Park besochten, ûnderfûnen de biologyske en kulturele betsjutting fan it gewaaks foar Perûanen op it plattelân, toerden in troch de gemeente behearde genebank en siedbank, en bewûndere fjilden fan lânseigen ierappels omjûn troch spektakulêre berchlânskippen.

Potato Park (Parque de la Papa)

During potato harvest season in the Potato Park in Cuzco, Peru, the mountains are dotted with farmers cultivating potatoes in every hue found in the rainbow. (Courtesy: Sara A. Fajardo for CIP)During potato harvest season in the Potato Park in Cuzco, Peru, the mountains are dotted with farmers cultivating potatoes in every hue found in the rainbow. Potatoes prepared in earth ovens called Huatias give their treasured tubers an earthy smoky flavor. This unique Park is a place where six communities have come together to preserve the biodiversity of potato. They live by Andean principles of duality, reciprocity and balance.

De Andes binne it berteplak fan 'e ierappel en Perû is it thús fan it grutste oantal ierappelrassen, mear as 3,500 soarten groeie yn lân. It behâld fan ierdappelbiodiversiteit is kritysk foar it garandearjen fan fiedselsfeiligens foar takomstige generaasjes. Lytsboeren yn 'e Andes hawwe de neiging om har ierappels yn chaqru te plantsjen, in miks fan fariëteiten om produksje te garandearjen ûnder ûnfoarspelbere omstannichheden.

It International Potato Center wurket gear mei it Potato Park en Asociación Andes om de ynfloed fan klimaatferoaring op ierdappelkwekerij te begripen.INIA's Andenes Experimental Station bestiet út 33 agraryske terrassen stipe troch stienmuorren dy't waarden oanlein troch de Inka's.

The field day consisted of 20 exhibits scattered across two of those terraces, where scientists from INIA and CIP provided field and greenhouse demonstrations on subjects that included native potato biodiversity; crop wild relatives; efforts to breed more resilient, high yielding, nutritional and climate-smart varieties; seed potato production technologies; and tools to improve the detection and management of potato late blight, among other themes.

De fjilddagen omfette in tradisjonele "pachmanca" lunch en Andes muzyk en folksdûnsjen.

Beide fjilddagen omfette in tradisjonele Andeske lunch neamd pachamanca: in kombinaasje fan fleis, ierappels, swiete ierpels, limabonen, mais en pleatslike krûden roastere op in bêd fan readwarm stiennen wylst se yn 'e grûn begroeven waarden. Dat emblematyske Andesgerjocht waard begelaat troch Peruaanske folksmuzyk, dûnsen en seremoanjes útfierd troch pleatslike befolking yn tradisjonele klean.

De fjilddagen omfette in tradisjonele "pachmanca" lunsj en Andeske muzyk en folksdûnsjen. De wittenskiplike presintaasjes en netwurken dy't de haadfokus wiene fan it WPC en it ALAP Kongres einigen sadwaande mei in oantinken oan Perû's bûtengewoane ierdappelbiodiversiteit en it histoaryske en kulturele belang fan it gewaaks. foar de minsken fan 'e Andes.

Kongresdielnimmers wiene gelokkich om tiid te kinnen trochbringe tichtby it gebiet wêr't de earste knollen hast 10,000 jier lyn waarden domestisearre, en wêr't pleatslike boeren genetyske ferskaat oan ierappel bewarje dat de kaai koe befetsje foar it garandearjen fan de fiedselsfeiligens en de leefberens fan minsken oer de heule wrâld foar milennia komme.