Miguel Ordinola, the general coordinator of the International Potato Centre's Innovation for Food Security and Sovereignty in the Andes Project, reported that the National Institute of Agricultural Innovation (INIA) would launch a new range of native potato called INIA 320-Kawsay. The presentation is scheduled for December 5. This new variety, he said, would have more nutrients and be resistant to late blight.
He indicated that the Agricultural Experiment Station Santa Ana (JunÃn) was in charge of the research to create this new variety and that it had taken them four years. He also indicated that this new variety's technical file had been completed in August this year.
Miguel Ordinola said the new variety has a higher percentage of iron and zinc, as well as having content of high antioxidants that are beneficial to the people's health.
In that regard, he pointed out, Peruvian agriculture must evaluate how products can contribute to feed people and achieve nutritional security, so the sector should know each product's content of macronutrients and micronutrients.
"We must begin to look at the Peruvian agricultural products, especially the ones from the Andean region and the jungle, from the point of view of their nutritional and antioxidant content, which might give us a much more important marketing strategy. That may be a positioning factor in the most demanding international markets," he said.
Source: Agraria.pe