10th World Potato Congress
Cusco, 29 May 2018 – Despite the fact that people have been eating potatoes since time immemorial, today consumption is stagnating in some countries because of changes in eating habits and misconceptions about potato’s nutritional qualities.
But what few people know, is that this familiar tuber, that is so taken for granted, may hold the key to food security for future generations. In years to come, farmers will be increasingly hard pressed to keep up with global demand for food amid the effects of climate change. It’s then that potato will prove to be fundamental, given that it yields more food, more quickly, using less water and on less land than any other major crop.
With these challenges in mind, the International Potato Center (CIP) officially announced the “Imagine a World without Potatoes” campaign at the 10th World Potato Congress and XXVIII Congress of the Latin American Potato Association – ALAP 2018, inviting millions of potato consumers around the world to imagine life without the potatoes that they are so used to having around them in all their varieties and presentations.
“It’s a very different type of campaign, where we are looking to raise awareness of the incredible biodiversity of potato and how it can offer solutions to the global challenges we are facing such as climate change, food security and development. Precisely, to safeguard the future of potato, we need to continue supporting efforts to maximize the crop’s potential, boosting production, encouraging scientific research and promoting consumption,” said Barbara Wells, CIP’s Director General.
The campaign seeks to bring together diverse partners from the global potato sector, be it private companies, trade associations, public research institutes, among others. Each campaign partner will be free to develop their own strategy based on the premise “Imagine a World without Potatoes”, from including the logo of the campaign in the packaging of their products, to disseminating content across social networks. The campaign model relies on a participatory and crowdfunding approach in which the many different institutions and players use their existing marketing power to help convey the central message.
“It’s a call to action, we’re giving consumers the freedom to use their imagination and draw their own conclusions. We tried the message in different markets around the world and have seen that potatoes are an integral part of our lives, that they evoke feelings of tradition, home cooked meals, warmth and comfort. The problem is not that potato fails to inspire, but that we take it for granted,” said Marc de Beaufort, Marketing Specialist at CIP.