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5INTERNATIONAL EDITION 2015 SPUDSMART.COM ON BEHALF OF the Canadian Potato Council I extend greetings. Welcome delegates distinguished guests producers representatives of the potato processing sector retailers and all who are attending this spectacular event the World Potato Congress. It is amazing how our world has shrunk. Although distances separating us can be great innovations in technology and the rapid speed of information today has made so many things possible. The World Potato Congress is being held half a world away from where we are in Canada yet we are able get a sense of the event as if we are right there in Beijing China. It is good that a worldwide congress can be held where we exchange information and ideas about how the global potato situation impacts our lives locally. The positives that come out of these events will help us all to continue to be world-class producers of potatoes and potato products. The ever-increasing global population and a finite land resource behooves us all to be diligent in how we can ensure the worldwide growth and development of the potato industry. Once again on behalf of the Canadian Potato Council I commend the organizers of the World Potato Congress and wish delegates and attendees a successful convention. GREETINGS FROM the International Potato Center There is much for us to discuss at the World Potato Congress and one of those discussions is about the potential of the potato as a driver for sustainable global food security. More than a billion people in the world eat potatoes and it is fitting that this triennial World Potato Congress is being held in the Peoples Republic of China this year since China is the worlds biggest potato producer and consumer. The extraordinary adaptive range of the potato and its ease of cultivation and high nutritional value has led to steady increases in potato consumption in developing countries. And yet the International Food Policy Research Institutes Global Hunger Index lists 56 countries with serious alarming or extremely alarming levels of hunger. The region with the highest rate of hunger is south Asia but the situation is serious in sub-Saharan Africa as well. With such a nutritious and available crop as the potato being consumed at the highest rates ever and in more places than ever using the potato as a keystone of global food security is an incredible opportunity one not lost on the International Potato Center and should be appreciated by WPC attendees. However just producing more potatoes in places struggling with food security issues is not the answer. As we saw earlier this year in India excess potato supplies caused prices to nosedive and the bottom fall out of the potato market. Its clear to us at the International Potato Center that systems-based approaches are required. Depending upon the local poverty context potato interventions involving smallholders especially women can be aimed at improving productivity and support to subsistence farmers or expansion of markets and linking smallholders to modern food markets and contributing to increasing returns to labor and generating employment for the local rural populations. The potato is a spectacular crop. It fits into nearly every diet in the world and its nutritious. It grows almost everywhere with relative ease. Its not without its challenges and we need to continuously innovate with potato technologies and advances in science to overcome them. However if we are deliberate in what we do continue to innovate like we must and focus on systems approaches to global food security issues then I believe that the potato can be a significant contributor towards feeding the nine billion people that we expect to be living on our planet in 2050. I hope that youll join us in this effort. BARBARA H. WELLS Director General International Potato Center JOHN BAREMAN Chair Canadian Potato Council