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Potatoes a way of life in Peru

(8 Jan 2016) LEAD-IN: All across the world potatoes now form a staple part of many people's diet – but perhaps the humble potato is often overlooked But, the tuber is a way of life in Peru, where it was first cultivated and now is eaten in nearly every meal. Scientists in Lima even think the potato and its cousin sweet potato offer hope to feed the world amid climate change and soaring populations. STORY-LINE: It's a scene that has played out for nearly 8,000 years in Peru's Sacred Valley tucked in the Andes Mountains. Quechua Indian farmers plant potatoes. It's the base for their farming, providing food and income. To people around the world, the potato is mostly seen as a chip, or perhaps baked or mashed. Often, the tuber is sort of the forgotten stepchild – lacking in flavor or sophistication. But that's because most of the rest of the world only eats fewer than a handful of varieties. But these farmers grow hundreds of varieties and the potato is a way of life. "For us, it is the basic food. Here in the Potato Park, we eat potato for lunch, dinner and breakfast," says Mariano Sutta, a farmer in Paru-Paru. Like many of the farmers in the Potato Park, he is proud of his heritage, which is intertwined with the potato. The collective is dedicated to cultivating hundreds of varieties, to keep the strains alive. They come in different sizes, shapes and colors. Some even have interesting patterns inside when you slice them. And, they often have much more robust flavors than your typical Russet, Yukon Gold or fingerlings. The Potato Park works with the world's leading gene bank for potatoes, the International Potato Center (CIP)– maintaining seed stock and cultivating rare varieties to ensure they don't vanish. Small farms line the steep foothills and fill the valley. In a large, chilly thatch-roofed building, farmers keep hundreds of small potatoes separated by type. Farmer Lino Mamani shows off some of the potatoes stored in blue crates and labelled carefully. "Here, the box has ten different types of potato," he says, showing the labels used to identify the exist strain. Mamani and his fellow farmers are proud to share their cultural knowledge from generations of farming potatoes with the scientists at CIP hundreds of miles away in Lima. He says the scientists are helpful – taking varieties the farmers like to grow and diligently working in the lab to remove all viruses, parasites or other disease. They then send back strong plants for the farmers to grow. "Well, mostly, what they are giving us are plants that are healthy, virus-free. They are clean versions of the original, like an improved potato. An improved potato, but a native potato – not just a hybrid potato." The farmers here don't want genetically engineered potatoes and are happy with the native varieties, though they are glad to help figure out which plants grow best in the the various microclimates of the Andes – work which may help identify plants that will thrive in rapidly changing environments around the world. In Peru's capital, CIP is a hub of activity. With scientists working to cultivate, identify the genes and develop new hybrids of potatoes, sweet potatoes and other tubers. In a large greenhouse, workers prune and report cuttings of hundreds of varieties of sweet potato. Some sweet potatoes developed here are now helping poor farmers in developing countries boost their nutrition and earn more money in markets. It makes sense for the leading potato research center to be in Lima – after all, the rest of the world only learned about potatoes about 500 years ago. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...