Science not only preserves our heritage in terms of germplasm, but it also allows developing food varieties that, in this case, combine the best characteristics of the different types of potatoes that exist in our country.
Hector Cabrera Hoyos, the former leader of the National Institute for Agrarian Innovation's (INIA) Potato Program and current director of the Baños del Inca Experimental Station at Cajamarca stated: "I was the program leader for six years and in that time I learned to value more our Peruvian product, I felt obliged to continue investigating to give producers more alternatives."
Hoyos worked with a team of researchers from Cusco, Puno, Huancayo, and Ayacucho and has managed to develop six new varieties in recent years, each with distinctive characteristics that could earn a place in the market.
The six varieties
The INIA 321 Kawsay variety has a high content of iron and zinc, an added value that could help in the fight against chronic childhood malnutrition. In addition, it is resistant to potato blight.
Meanwhile, the INIA 322 Sullanita variety, which is produced in the northern sierra, is characterized by its resistance to the potato blight and by its high productivity: 35 tons per hectare.
The third variety is the INIA 323 Huayro-Amazonense, whose planting occupies 51.5% of the Amazon territory. Cabrera said this variety had a high demand because of its quality, because it was good for frying, and that it had market prospects in the areas of the Peruvian East and Jaen.
Another important variety is the INIA 324 Banosina, which also has a high resistance to the potato blight and can yield 37 tons per hectare. It is characterized by its red skin and long durability.
Finally, in 2014, they launched the INIA 325 Poderosa variety, which also resists the potato blight and has a superior quality. In fact, in the coming months, they will harvest 60 tons of qualirty seeds of the Kawsay and Poderosa varieties, which were grown by the INIA and the Pataz de la Libertad Association, with the financial support from the National Agricultural Innovation Program (PNIA).
Market potential
Regarding the possibility that these varieties become more consumed and have commercial success, Hector Cabrera said that it would depend on the joint dissemination that several institutions in the sector must do. "We must also break down barriers, such as intermediaries who demand specific varieties from the producers hindering the new varieties, which are more beneficial, from quickly positioning themselves in the market," he said.
He also advocated promoting organization among producers so that they could prepare more consistent offers for the markets, as there are special potato varieties that only appear once and then disappear, which is unsustainable as a commercial strategy.
Finally, regarding the announcement that Cusco will be host to the World Potato Congress next year, the specialist said that it would be a great opportunity to raise awareness about this Peruvian product's richness and varieties.
Another achievement of this working group is the development of a catalogue of morphological, agronomic and molecular characterization of 129 native varieties from La Libertad, a work that was carried out with the Pataz Association, the International Potato Center, and the Municipality of Chugay.
Source: agraria.pe