Most are familiar with the expression “It takes a village to raise a child”. When it comes to the potato, it’s possible for all of us working in this village to make global change as we look to address poverty and food security. The knowledge we have gained within our individual careers has been developed through sharing of information, whether it be passed from generations, through educational opportunities, or through networking experiences.
In May, the World Potato Congress (WPC) Inc., through its mission of creating value chain networking within the global potato community, officially adopted the “Declaration of Dublin: Fostering Potato Partnerships for Food Security”. What is this and where does the idea come from?
Reaching back to discussions with industry players over the past few Congresses, momentum has built around the conversation on how WPC might assist in poverty alleviation and help countries struggling with the challenges of food security through potato production. There’s a disparity between the high yields and low yields within some regions of the world. There’s also a dichotomy between research activities in developed versus developing countries that highlight the need for more exchange, knowledge sharing, and collaboration. For producers to implement key research and technology, they require support. Better access to research and technology needs to be provided by the potato research community through improved services at national and international levels.
How can we leverage the networking capabilities of WPC and its community to share global knowledge and improve the capacity within potato programs?
The Declaration of Dublin is a call to action to foster relationships between private and public potato partners with the goal of addressing current and future challenges in global food security through the exploration and development of innovative action plans and investment opportunities. The adoption of this Declaration aligns with the recently adopted United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Engaging and working in concert with existing in-country stakeholders will initiate and strengthen the potato value chain projects at local, national and regional levels. Partners in this engagement model might include local communities and authorities, non-governmental organizations, research and development institutes, sustaining partners of the WPC, potato media, financial institutions, foundations, farmers’ communities, and other entities who find value in this commitment of potatoes changing the food insecurity paradigm.
WPC and Congress host countries have been successful over the years to leverage funding to ensure delegates could be sponsored to attend. At the 2022 Congress in Dublin, WPC hosts and Irish Aid, Ireland, sponsored over 40 delegates from across the globe.
Two such delegates were Ernest Ng’umbi and Faraja Maguhu from the Njombe Agricultural Development Organization (NADO) in Tanzania. NADO works with over 16,000 small holder farmers engaged in various forms of crop production, over half of whom are women.
The networking and connections made at the Congress in Dublin have provided Ng’umbi and Maguhu tools needed in their commitment to reduce relative and absolute poverty. Workshops and connections made with global organizations in Dublin have led to producer training sessions on good agricultural practices and assisted in sourcing of quality certified seeds. This, along with field inspections, has already led to dramatically improved up to 25 tons per hectare.
Diffused light storages for seed and ambient store for ware potatoes is expected to see improved storage capabilities of up to four months and training is in progress around potato value additions such as making crisps and fries.
These success stories are important. The Declaration of Dublin can be adopted by any organization. We’re all part of the village.
Photo — Potato farmers from Amka Vicoba group from Itunduma in the Njombe district in Tanzania, packing the potatoes into to ready them for transportation to the market. Photo: Faraja Maguhu, NADO marketing officer
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