On the final day of the 11th World Potato Congress (WPC) in Dublin, Ireland, WPC President Romain Coles, in the WPC Dublin Declaration, called on participants in the global potato value chain to invest in “potato solutions” to advance the UN Sustainable Development Agenda for the period until 2030. In this Agenda, the UN has included 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of every person around the world.
Romain Coles recalled that according to analysts' forecasts, by 2050 the world's population will increase to 9,7 billion people, and the need for food will increase by 70%. Climate change is an additional challenge to improve productivity and reduce rural poverty. To achieve these goals, millions of smallholder families around the world need to be food secure, lifted out of poverty and connected to an active value chain.
In his opening remarks, the President of the WPC concluded that the production of food in general and potatoes in particular in each country needs to be stepped up in order to ensure food security and reduce dependence on international trade. In many regions of the world, the potato crop could be part of the solution, as demonstrated during the Covid pandemic.
Four Pillars
The World Potato Congress included in the Dublin Declaration four main postulates that are necessary for the implementation of this project.
- Promoting the benefits of potatoes.
Given population growth in Africa, South America and Asia, the potential of the potato for these parts of the world needs to be explored and reflected in national agricultural policy and planning at the global, regional and local levels.
2. Establishing new partnerships.
Two factors can be considered to solve problems and seize emerging opportunities:
- Research partnerships need to be intensified and developed to develop methods to overcome production challenges and climate impacts on rural communities.
- Partnerships need to be developed across the potato value chain to increase private sector access to clean seeds, increase productivity and expand the value chain.
To create such partnerships, the following requirements must be met:
- provide economic support to rural communities in developing countries,
- invest in professional potato projects,
- work to raise awareness of entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector,
- develop cooperation to create new value chains.
3. Promotion of best practices.
During the 2018 World Potato Congress in Cusco, Peru, WPC presented its toolkit to guide new local potato projects in developing countries.
In this toolbox, the WPC has attempted to share best practice information on several aspects:
– offering technologies for farm management and sustainable crop production in cooperation with research organizations,
– reducing food waste along the potato value chain and creating better storage opportunities,
- expanding marketing assistance (including promotion, market access, value added, recycling, innovation, more efficient production and packaging).
4. Increasing the role of the World Potato Congress.
In this rapidly changing world, WPC Inc. plays a catalytic role by bringing together stakeholders in the potato value chain, launching new initiatives through its global network of organizations, companies and supporting partners.
Some examples of such initiatives are:
- A regular program of international webinars on research and development, economics, consumption, trade, crop management and storage,
- Regional cooperation with authorities and organizations, including awarding regional initiatives. The biennial World Potato Congress also allows more regions to welcome the global potato community, share knowledge and experience, and launch new initiatives.
- Sustainable partnership. The Congress brings together the ideas of private companies, organizations and the media.
- WPC Potato Ambassadors to spread the message.
To link these ideas to the above four pillars and spread them around the world, the World Potato Congress has created a new network of WPC Potato Ambassadors.
The first two ambassadors were introduced at the presentation of the Dublin Declaration.
Tom Arnold grew up on a potato farm near Dublin and is currently the Irish Government's Special Envoy for Food Systems and Chair of the EU Commission's High-Level Expert Group to assess the need for an International Platform for Food Systems Science (IPFSS); Irish Government Special Envoy for Food Systems; Member of the UN Food Systems Summit (FSS) Network of Champions; Member of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems (GloPan); Member of the Board of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN); Member of the Malabo Montpellier Group; Member of the Sight and Life Foundation.
He previously served as Chairman of the Irish Agri-Food Strategy Committee 2030; EU Commission Task Force on Rural Africa; coordinator of the Movement for Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN); Director General of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA); the President of the Irish Constitutional Convention; Executive Director of the Worldwide Concern; Chairman of the OECD Committee on Agriculture, Chief Economist and Assistant Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Marine; and administrator of the EU Commission. He received an undergraduate degree in agricultural economics from University College Dublin (UCD) and an MA from The Catholic University of Leuven and Trinity College Dublin.
Toms Skuyins is a Latvian professional road cyclist who currently rides for the UCI WorldTeam Trek-Segafredo.
Toms Skujins is often referred to as the "potato man", as he expresses his love for potatoes (one of the staples of Latvian cuisine), while most of his colleagues prefer pasta as a source of carbohydrates. When and where he is, Thoms expresses his love for potatoes and potato dishes.
More information: Romain Cools, rcools@telenet.be; twitter: @romaincools