Part I: How the humble tuber turned global
Introduction:
The Year 2008 has been declared as the “International Year of the Potatoâ€? to raise awareness of the importance of the potato – and of agriculture in general.
The potato has proved to be a GNH crop
To celebrate the international year of potato and to acknowledge the unique importance of the potato crop for Bhutan, the Bhutan Potato Development Program and Kuensel is publishing a series of articles. This contribution provides an overview of the global, regional and national importance of this unassuming tuber. Over the next 2 months additional contributions will be made on the following topics:
* Introduction and adoption of potatos by Bhutanese farmers and consumers
* Potato production system in Bhutan
* Potato marketing
* Socio-economic importance of potato
* Potato and the Bhutanese media – Is the media getting the story right?
Origin of potato
Recent research indicates that the first potatoes were cultivated near Lake Titicaca, on the Peru/Bolivia border, about 8,000 years ago. This high mountain range in South America has many commonalities with the Himalayan regions including topography, climate, agriculture production and even the physiognomy of the people and weaving patterns.
“Potato – The vegetable that changed historyâ€? – G Hawkes, 1990
Potato rightly called the ’vegetable that changed history’ provided both the spark and the fuel for centuries to social change. While conquering the world, it was banned and lauded, cursed and praised, feared and loved until humanity welcomed it into its home and hearth. Yet, till the 16th century, it was unknown to the people of Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
Composition of potato dry matter (Source: Woolfe, 1987)
When the Spanish conquerors arrived, they found that the potato was widely cultivated in what are now Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. In the late 16th century, the Spanish explorers brought the plant to Europe as a botanical curiousity. Within a relatively short time span, potato became an important crop in Western Europe and in parts of Asia.
“The Potato� (Solanum species tuberosum) belongs to the family of Solanaceae and is closely related to the tomato, eggplant, and chilli. There are about 7,500 potato varieties reported worldwide, 3,000 of them found in the Andes alone, mainly in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. They come in great variety with differences in size, shape, colour, texture, cooking characteristics and taste.
Global importance
As the tuber travelled to Europe and Asia only in the 17th century, it is quite a new crop compared with rice and wheat. During the 18th and 19th centuries, potato had a very important impact on economic developments in Europe. Today, potato is the fourth most produced food crop after rice, maize and wheat and is grown on an estimated area of 195,000 sq km, about 4 times the total area of Bhutan. The global production in 2006 was about 315 million tonnes.
It is interesting to note that the highest consumption levels are found in Europe, especially eastern European countries, far away from the origin of the tuber. In some of these countries potato is the base for making their favourite drink, vodka.
As a cheap, abundant source of food, it contributed substantially to the industrial revolution. It provided relief from famines but was also blamed for causing the famous Irish famine of 1847 in Ireland, bringing one million people to their death and sending millions to seek a better future in North America.
Interestingly, potato was also seen as an aphrodisiac and a cure for impotence. The English herbalist William Salmon writes in 1622: “They nourish the whole body, restore in consumption and provoke lust.� He called potato not only Diuretick and Stomatick but also Spermatognetick.
Potato is ideally suited for places where land is limited and labour is abundant. High productivity, nutritional quality, wide adaptation, but also easy storing, preparation, cultivation, etc. are some of the qualities making potato special. Potato produces more food per area than rice or maize. It is a good source of dietary energy and its protein.
The combined effect of the superior standing in productivity, nutritional qualities and adaptability to environmental conditions puts potato on top of the list for any programme focussing on food security or nutrition.
Importance for Bhutan
Originating from the highlands of South America, the potato is well adapted to the Bhutanese mountain environments. Because of its wide adaptability, potato can be grown by yak herders at 4,500 m as well as rice farmers at 300 m. It is most widely grown in the altitude belt of 1800 to 3000 m, where it has replaced wheat, barley, buckwheat and millet.
Bhutan has favourable conditions for the production of high quality potato for in-country consumption and as well as for export. Many Bhutanese potato-growing environments are suitable for off-season potato production for markets in tropical India. Within a short period, potato has emerged as the most important cash crop for farmers at higher elevations. In these regions, it has brought fast changes, setting off the transition from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture, generating income and employment and changing food habits. Considering its contribution to the individual household income, the adoption of this cash crop had no doubt the most important impact on the socio-economic conditions of rural households in the higher regions of the country.
The fast adoption rate of market-oriented potato production and the rapid changes in potato consumption are both examples demonstrating how rapidly Bhutanese farmers and consumers have responded to new opportunities and situations.
In the next contribution we will describe how the tuber travelled from South America to the remote villages of Bhutan and how it became the indispensable vegetable for one of Bhutan’s favourite dishes kewa datsi and the most important source of cash income for our mountain farmers.
Source: Kuenselonline
Contribution by the Bhutan Potato Development Program (Department of Agriculture)
