Ecuador’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MAGAP) and the National Autonomous Institute of Agricultural Research (INIAP), decentralized autonomous governments, the private sector and the restaurant industry, want to encourage the production, marketing and consumption of potato in Ecuador.
There are 50,000 hectares of this tuber planted in the country, which produce 300,000 tons of potatoes. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries, potato consumption per capita averages 30 kilos a year. The potato production chain has grown to the point that there are nearly 80,000 farmers engaged in its cultivation and marketing.
MAGAP, with the help of the universities, plans to implement a greenhouse in order to obtain certified potato seeds. The purpose is to increase the potato’s productivity to benefit farmers. Iván Reinoso, head of the INIAP’s Potato Program, noted that Ecuador had more than 500 potato varieties. Next year, the lNlAP will unveil three new potato varieties that are resistant to climate changes, such as drought and frost.
Source: Efe