The World Potato Congress (WPC) Inc., through its mission of creating value chain networking within the global potato community, has officially adopted the Declaration of Dublin: Fostering Potato Partnerships for Food Security.
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. There is a disparity between the high yields and low yields within some regions of the world. In countries where the national average yields are considered very low, there are examples of innovation that has led to much higher overall performance of the potato crop and its utilization.
The roles of public-private partnerships are often the drivers behind making these breakthroughs. The Dublin Declaration promotes the linking of partners together to share knowledge and success stories in the global potato industry.
President Peter VanderZaag “envisions that WPC Directors, International Advisors, Sustaining Partners
and others will join in the mission to work together to meet the needs of those who live in food insecure places through improving potato production as a great food”. Already, 10% of the funds received under the WPC Platinum Sustaining Partnership are used towards this vision.
The WPC shares in the recently published UN Sustainable Development Goals. These goals are “a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.”
At the WPC Dublin Congress there were 40 bursary recipients who attended from countries where the potato is an important crop yet food security is an issue. WPC is reaching out to these recipients to ensure supports and networking opportunities provided at the Dublin Congress have proven successful.
Dr. Nigel Crump, co-organizer of WPC 2024 Adelaide enthusiastically shares: “The declaration creates inspiration for the 12th World Potato Congress being held in Adelaide, Australia June 23-26, 2024 by providing a global forum to foster collaboration and to establish partnerships to further address the needs highlighted in the Declaration of Dublin.”
