USA: Potato is healthy, inexpensive, climate friendly

Published Mar 9, 2023

Tridge summary

The article highlights the significance of potatoes in providing nutrition and promoting food security, especially in low-income countries. With their high yield, climate friendliness, and low production costs, potatoes are identified as a key crop by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which aims to double global production by 2030. International organization World Neighbors is supporting this initiative by training farmers in Burkina Faso and Mali to improve potato cultivation, focusing on sustainable practices like water conservation and organic farming. This initiative is expected to enhance food security for the farmers' families and potentially generate surplus for sale in local markets, contributing to increased income.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

It's different in other places, especially in low-income countries. Potatoes are usually prepared simply and eaten as one part of a dish with other vegetables. Potatoes are rich in vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals; add fiber; and have no fat. They can be and are part of a balanced, nutritious diet. Furthermore, potatoes are very climate friendly. This is largely due to extremely high yield. In 2022, US farmers harvested over 44,000 pounds of potatoes per acre, or over 15 million calories. While similar to corn, this yield is achieved using far less water and fewer fertilizers and pesticides. This makes potatoes relatively inexpensive to produce. Low production costs translate into lower selling prices. This is important in low-income countries in which food security is a pressing issue. For all these reasons, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has advocated doubling global potato production by 2030. Given the low water and other input requirements, potatoes ...

Source: Argenpapa