Why the humble potato has even more to offer the world

According to the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru, over 1 billion people consume potatoes worldwide. After rice and wheat, it is the most important food crop globally in terms of human consumption. In the Philippines, potato consumption is projected to reach 307,000 metric tons by the year 2026, while potato production is projected to reach 122,040 metric tons by the same year. With such a huge reliance on the crop worldwide, I believe it is vitally important to protect and enhance its safe production for current and future generations. This means virus-free potato crops are an absolute imperative. Potatoes are different from other crops such as wheat, soy beans and corn. As they contain a lot of water, they can't be stored for long periods. When transported, potatoes bring with them the soil in which they were grown. Since the transportation of soil across borders is very strictly Quarantined, crops tend to be both grown and consumed locally. there are no commodity or ...