FAO supports Peru’s proposal to establish an ‘International Potato Day’

The FAO Committee on Agriculture recently endorsed a Peruvian initiated project to have May 30 designated world wide as “International Potato Day”. The Committee aims to get the proposal approved by the FAO Council and Conference, and also presented to the United Nations General Assembly.

Peru’s Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri) says in a press release that the proposal was unanimously supported by the representatives of governments in America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

If approved by the UN General Assembly, the first International Potato Day will be celebrated globally on May 30, 2024.

Midagri says this is a very important achievement for Peru, the center of origin of the potato, and a worldwide recognition and re-evaluation of the high Andean inhabitants, who domesticated the potato thousands of years ago.

Midagri points out that Peru leads the Latin American continent in potato production, surpassing countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador. Worldwide, Peru ranks 16th in terms of production, led by China, followed by Belarus, Poland, Kazakhstan, Holland, Germany, among others.