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Visiting the birthplace of the Potato

Klamath extension researcher visits Peru to see tuber crop from a new perspective  

 
By JILL AHO
H&N Staff Writer
December 4, 2008
 
Photos courtesy of Brian Charlton
Oregon State University Extension potato researcher Brian Charlton examines a woman’s seed potatoes during a recent trip to Peru.
 
   During two weeks in Peru, Oregon State University Extension Center potato researcher Brian Charlton witnessed the gamut of farming practices. 

   From traditional Andean methods — where everything is done by hand — to a fully mechanized commercial operation, the birthplace of the potato offered him a perspective that only a developing country could. 

   Charlton was somewhat surprised by the “wired” nature of Peru, where the Internet is widely available and cell phones are the norm, giving the younger generations access to the developed world. 

   “A lot of the (younger generation) have seen the wealth and different lifestyles. I would imagine they are less likely to want to stay in their home towns and do as their parents have done,” Charlton said. 

   International Potato Center 

   One major stop on Charlton’s Peruvian tour was the International Potato Center, a research facility aimed at fighting poverty and hunger through potato and other tuber innovation. The center is known by its Spanish acronym CIP (Centro Internacional de la Papa). 

   “They focus on improving all agronomic aspects of potato production,” Charlton said, a mission that mirrors some of the research being conducted by OSU into pest and disease resistance, as well as high crop yield. 

   5,000 varieties of potato 

   The CIP gene bank is known for its stockpile of germplasm, or genetic material. The germplasm is distributed worldwide, with some going to research facilities in the U.S. With about 5,000 varieties of potato, and many genetic relatives, Charlton said Peru is an ideal place to find naturally occurring genetic combinations that could yield more desirable plants. 

   “They aren’t transgenic or altered, they are indigenous accessions,” Charlton said. “Most pest- and disease-resistant genes can be found within that pool of plant material.” 

   In addition to visiting rural farms and the CIP, Charlton’s group of 11 also visited two agricultural schools, one a public agricultural university and one an agriculture-focused technical school. Charlton was impressed with the technical school, as it seemed very useful to the overall mission of improved crop yield. 

   “The mission is not to train new scientists or educators,” he said. “It’s to improve the level of subsistence agriculture that is already there.” 

   Improving market presence 

   Students spend two weeks studying their textbooks at the school and two weeks working at home for three years to complete the program. Charlton said he saw it as the most practical approach to improving market presence and export opportunities for small farming operations. 

   During a trip to Cuzco, the former Incan capital, Charlton and his group visited an Incan settlement. There he encountered Peruvians cultivating a field of between one-half and three-quarters of an acre. 

   “There were two young men out there digging holes,” he said. “And an older lady sitting by a manure pile.” 
Peruvians use many methods for potato cultivation, but much of the work is done by hand. Here Peruvians plant a potato field by hand.
 
   15 varieties in one field 

   Charlton said he could only imagine the amount of effort it must have taken to transport the natural fertilizer to the site. One more woman sat next to a bag of seed potatoes. After some translation and hand signals, (most indigenous people of Peru speak Quechua, not Spanish), Charlton was able to communicate his interest in the woman’s seed bag. Inside he guessed she had a mixture of 15 different potato varieties. 

   These potatoes surely were not destined for the marketplace, he said. 

   But later in the week, while visiting the Colca Valley, Charlton encountered a nine-person farming operation that used oxen to plow furrows for planting. The rows were then hand-planted and handfertilized using commercial fertilizer with just one potato variety. Some of those, Charlton guessed, would be destined for sale at markets in the near vicinity. 

   Of all the farms Charlton visited, only one used machines for planting and harvesting an export crop of corn. 

    “I was humbled by how well off we are here, even considering the economic challenges,” Charlton said. “We’re fortunate.”
 

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