The potato processing industry in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda is expanding rapidly. This study assesses the current situation and outlook of the local industrial potato processing sector and the alignment of the industry’s variety requirements with the priorities set by breeders. Currently, potato processing companies in the three countries use both varieties selected locally from public international germplasm and varieties introduced by Dutch seed companies, and their suitability for processing is discussed as well. Overall, the processing industry pays high attention to traits affecting processing efficiency and consumers’ acceptance while breeders, in spite of being aware of the characteristics required for processing varieties, are more focused on traits related to production and disease resistance. As the processing sector develops further, breeders will have to pay increased attention to the progressively stricter requirements of the industry, striking the right balance between farmers’ and processors’ variety requirements. While their opinions on the farmers’ acceptability of processing varieties diverge, breeders and industry agree about the challenges represented by the limited access to quality seed and poor business linkages between value chain actors in securing the supply of varieties suitable for processing. Based on these findings, it is recommended to pay more attention to both the development of dual-purpose varieties and the strengthening of the potato value chain through the improvement of business linkages between seed producers, farmers, and processing companies.

The journey of the potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) from South America to the rest of the world has generated a prolific literature regarding the discovery of this crop, its early consumption and cultivation in the Old World. An important part of that literature concerns the Canary Islands. The islands were the only exception to the Spanish trade monopoly with the New World, which reserved Seville as the only port for imports and exports to the colonies. The first potatoes to arrive from America, both from the Andes and the Chiloé archipelago, passed through the Canary Islands, and it is likely that the islands were initially the place where this crop became acclimatised. The orography, the volcanic soils, the climate and the intermediate photoperiods of the islands contributed to the acclimatisation of potatoes that came from various origins of America. The current biodiversity of potatoes in the Canary Islands includes different cultivars, such as local ones that arrived from South America after the conquest, which have evolved on the islands and are taxonomically classified as Solanum ssp. tuberosum , Solanum ssp. andigena and Solanum chaucha . These potatoes have been preserved by farmers, generation after generation, with between 600 and 800 ha being devoted to their cultivation (mainly on the island of Tenerife), in a traditional way, though with low productivity, often due to high virus pressure. This article traces the history of ancient potatoes in the Canary Islands and investigates in depth the introduction of potatoes in Europe through the Canary Islands. It contributes to describing the cultivated plant genetic resources of the Solanum spp. as well as their current situation and cultivation. It also describes traditional cultivation practices, the importance of the in situ conservation of theses varieties and the threats that affect them such as the Guatemalan potato moth.

Systems approaches are widely promoted for inclusive innovation, but their use and results are seldom evaluated. We assessed applications of the Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA), which combines elements of innovation system and value chain approaches, in eight cases in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. We found that the PMCA performed best where the policy environment favoured value chain development, the chain offered significant potential for value addition, and the PMCA was implemented with high fidelity to its basic principles, and as part of a larger development effort. Facilitation was crucial for developing locally appropriate implementation procedures and engaging smallholders, commercial entrepreneurs, researchers, and other service providers throughout the PMCA application. By focusing on commercial innovation, the PMCA offered a strategic entry point for stimulating more systemic innovation. We conclude with six lessons on (1) how commercial innovation can trigger broader innovation; (2) the need to engage commercial entrepreneurs in innovation processes; (3) the importance of committed, motivated and capable facilitators; (4) the advantage of embedding the PMCA in a broader development effort; (5) how systems approaches can help R&D organizations respond better to market demands; and (6) the contributions of systems approaches to innovation capacity.

In the coming decades, feeding the expanded global population nutritiously and sustainably will require substantial improvements to the global food system worldwide. The main challenge will be how to produce more food with the same or fewer resources and waste less. Food security has four dimensions: food availability, food access, food use and quality, and food stability. Among several other food sources, the potato crop is one that can help match all these constraints worldwide due to its highly diverse distribution pattern, and its current cultivation and demand, particularly in developing countries with high levels of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. After an overview of the current situation of global hunger, food security, and agricultural growth, followed by a review of the importance of the potato in the current global food system and its role played as a food security crop, this paper analyses and discusses how potato research and innovation can contribute to sustainable agri-food systems comparing rural and industrial agri-food systems with reference to food security indicators. It concludes with a discussion about the challenges for sustainable potato cropping enhancement considering the needs to increase productivity in rural-based potato food systems that predominate in low-income countries, while promoting better resource management and optimization in industrial-based agri-food systems considering factors such as quality, diversity of products, health impacts, and climate change effects. Research and innovation options and policies that could facilitate the requirements of both rural and industrial potato-based agri-food systems are described.

The recent shift towards agricultural innovation systems recognises that agricultural development is complex and must involve multiple actors. This makes innovation through a project framework inherently challenging. This article draws lessons from a project that fostered post-harvest innovations in Uganda. First, a two-stage design allowed scoping out business cases with partners to identify potential innovations. Second, stakeholders used the Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA) to flexibly develop the innovations. Third, flexible funding made it possible to seize new opportunities along the way. Fourth, the project was attentive to surprises in implementation and encouraged reflection.

Native potato production is an important livelihood strategy for most rural Andean families. An inclusive value chain development approach triggered innovation processes in Peru's potato sector, benefiting small-scale producers and value chain actors and improving their livelihoods, although the magnitude of the effects on poverty reduction remains to be determined.

La producción de papas nativas es una estrategia de sustento importante para la mayoría de las familias rurales andinas. Un enfoque inclusivo de desarrollo de cadenas de valor desarrollado por el Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) desencadenó procesos de innovación para mejorar y promover el comercio de papas nativas, mejorando los medios de vida de los pequeños productores y beneficiando a todos los actores de la cadena de valor de papas nativas. Usar las nuevas oportunidades del mercado para el desarrollo requiere una serie de otras innovaciones, incluidas las institucionales y tecnológicas. El enfoque desarrollado inicialmente en Perú también se implementó con éxito en Ecuador y Bolivia y podría expandirse a otros cultivos en otras regiones. Palabras clave adicionales: papas nativas, desarrollo de cadenas de valor inclusivas, investigación agrícola, sistema de innovación.

In order to evaluate the effect of Biostimulants on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production in Totora, Cochabamba, experimental plots were implemented with the seed company SEPA. The field trials were implemented in an experimental design of Completely Randomized Blocks (DCRB) with subsampling and four repetitions. Six treatments were implemented: T1: Control (without application), T2: Tricobal (applied to the seed), T3: Fostop (applied to the seed), T4: Energy top (applied to the seed), T5: Maxim SEPA (Fludioxonil and Metalaxil-M) to the seed + Energy Top (applied to the foliage) and T6: Maxim SEPA (Fludioxonil and Metalaxil-M) to the seed + Tricobal (applied to the foliage). The results showed that there was a high and positive correlation between chlorophyll content and yield. This suggests that the variables are not independent, and biostimulants affect photosynthesis. It was observed that the higher the chlorophyll content in the leaves, the yield increases on average. The best treatments were for T6 (Maxim to the seed + Tricobal applied to the foliage), with a yield of 30 tha-1 and Energy top with 26 tha-1, with the highest numbers of tubers per plant and the highest Marginal Return Rate (Bs 24.31). Additional keywords: Value chain, food systems, malnutrition, health, family agriculture, decapitalization.

In order to evaluate the effect of Biostimulants on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production in Totora, Cochabamba, experimental plots were implemented with the seed company SEPA. The field trials were implemented in an experimental design of Completely Randomized Blocks (DCRB) with subsampling and four repetitions. Six treatments were implemented: T1 : Control (without application), T2: Tricobal (applied to the seed), T3: Fostop (applied to the seed), T4: Energy top (applied to the seed), T5: Maxim SEPA (Fludioxonil and Metalaxil-M) to the seed + Energy Top (applied to the foliage) and T6: Maxim SEPA (Fludioxonil and Metalaxil-M) to the seed + Tricobal (applied to the foliage). The results showed that there was a high and positive correlation between chlorophyll content and yield. This suggests that the variables are not independent, and biostimulants affect photosynthesis. It was observed that the higher the chlorophyll content in the leaves, the yield increases on average. The best treatments were for T6 (Maxim to the seed + Tricobal applied to the foliage), with a yield of 30 tha(-1) and Energy top with 26 tha(-1), with the highest numbers of tubers per plant and the highest Marginal Return Rate (Bs 24.31).

Native potato production is an important livelihood strategy for most rural Andean families. An inclusive value chain development approach developed by the International Potato Center (CIP) triggered innovation processes to enhance the marketing of native potatoes benefiting small-scale producers and value chain actors and improving their livelihoods. Making use of new market opportunities for development requires an array of other innovations including institutional and technological ones. The approach initially developed in Peru was also successfully implemented in Ecuador and Bolivia and could be expanded to other crops in other regions.

The development community has shown increasing interest in the potential of innovation systems and value chain development approaches for reducing poverty and stimulating greater gender equity in rural areas. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of systematic knowledge on how such approaches have been implemented in different contexts, the main challenges in their application, and how they can be scaled to enable large numbers of poor people to benefit from participation in value chains. This chapter provides an overview of value chain development and focuses on the International Potato Center's experiences with the Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA), a flexible approach that brings together smallholder farmers, traders, processors, researchers, and other service providers in a collective process to explore potential business opportunities and develop innovations to exploit them. The PMCA is an exemplary case of South-South knowledge exchange: it was first developed and implemented in the Andes, but has since been introduced, adapted, and applied to different market chains in Africa and Asia, where it has contributed to improved rural livelihoods. The experiences of adjusting and implementing the approach in these different contexts and the outcomes of those interventions, and complementary approaches, are examined in this chapter. Lessons learned from these experiences are shared with a goal of informing the promotion, improvement, and scaling of value chain approaches in the future.

Potato production and the related commercial and technological characteristics in the potato value chain, is one of the most important sources of income and food security of thousands of small-scale farmers in the Andes, who are increasingly challenged by trends of urbanization, volatility of agricultural prices, water and land scarcity, environmental stress, and weather shocks. Understanding food losses along the potato value chain and what role these losses play in food security has recently caught the interest of researchers and policy makers as reducing food losses can improve food availability without increasing agricultural inputs, use of land, or technological improvements on the production side. However, estimating food losses has proven to be a daunting task and efforts have yielded estimates that vary considerably. The methodology presented in this study distinguishes losses that are due to physical quantities from those due to quality and value. The results show that the most important losses occur in the production link and that the most important losses faced by small-scale potato producers occur due to crop management practices (before harvest), pests and diseases, frost and drought. Losses in production amount to an average of 95% of total losses in the value chain. This paper reports on the study conducted by the International Potato Center (CIP) through the CGIAR Program on Policy, Institution and Markets (PIM) lead by IFPRI, to evaluate the extent and sources of food losses taking as case study key potato value chains in Ecuador and Peru.

Despite the increasing use of innovation systems and development approaches based on value chains to stimulate the growth of rural incomes, poverty reduction and greater gender equality there is little systematic knowledge about how to operationalize the value chain approaches in different contexts, and how to extend their benefits. This article considers the development of the value chain in competitive terms, as a type of intervention that promotes the development of competitive advantages and contributes to the reduction of poverty, by improving the links between small farmers, merchants, processors and consumers within of a value chain. Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA) is described as a flexible approach involving value chain actors researchers and other service providers in a collective process that explores the potential business opportunities for the benefit of small farmers and other actors in the chain. This approach was developed and applied first in Peru, and then, through knowledge exchange, it has been validated by CIP and local organizations in Bolivia and Ecuador in the Andean region. Experiences about its implementation and adjustment of the approach in these contexts are described as well as the conditions that have allowed the promotion of innovations as a basis to develop competitive advantages. The document concludes with lessons on implementation that contribute to improving the design of interventions and the promotion of value chain approaches in different contexts.

Multi-stakeholder platforms have become mainstream in projects, programmes and policy interventions aiming to improve innovation and livelihoods systems, i.e. research for development interventions in low- and middle-income contexts. However, the evidence for multi-stakeholder platforms' contribution to the performance of research for development interventions and their added value is not compelling. This paper focuses on stakeholder participation as one of the channels for multi-stakeholder platforms' contribution to the performance of research for development interventions, i.e. stakeholder participation. It uses a quantitative approach and utilizes descriptive statistics and ARIMA models. It shows that, in three Ugandan multi-stakeholder platform cases studied, participation increased both in nominal and in unique terms. Moreover, participation was rather cyclical and fluctuated during the implementation of the research for development interventions. The study also shows that, in addition to locational and intervention factors such as type of the area along a rural-urban gradient targeted by the intervention and human resources provided for multi-stakeholder platform implementation, temporal elements such as phases of research for development intervention objectives and the innovation development process play significant roles in influencing participation. The study concludes that contribution of multi-stakeholder platforms to the performance of research for development projects, programs, policies and other initiatives is constrained by locational and temporal context and conditional on the participation requirements of the objectives pursued by research for development intervention.

SUMMARY Innovation platforms are fast becoming part of the mantra of agricultural research for development projects and programmes. Their basic tenet is that stakeholders depend on one another to achieve agricultural development outcomes, and hence need a space where they can learn, negotiate and coordinate to overcome challenges and capture opportunities through a facilitated innovation process. Although much has been written on how to implement and facilitate innovation platforms efficiently, few studies support ex-ante appraisal of when and for what purpose innovation platforms provide an appropriate mechanism for achieving development outcomes, and what kinds of human and financial resource investments and enabling environments are required. Without these insights, innovation platforms run the risk of being promoted as a panacea for all problems in the agricultural sector. This study makes clear that not all constraints will require innovation platforms and, if there is a simpler and cheaper alternative, that should be considered first. Based on the review of critical design principles and plausible outcomes of innovation platforms, this study provides a decision support tool for research, development and funding agencies that can enhance more critical thinking about the purposes and conditions under which innovation platforms can contribute to achieving agricultural development outcomes.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to take stock of the current state of knowledge about inclusive value-chain development (VCD) in the context of international agricultural research; and second, to draw out the implications for future research and action. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a review of recent research papers authored by professionals affiliated with international agricultural research centers and their partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Findings The studies reviewed in the paper identify the opportunities emerging from new and expanding markets for agricultural products and challenges to smallholder participation in these markets. It identifies key attributes of successful value-chain interventions, emphasizing the importance of combining value-chain approaches with other approaches, including those emerging from innovation systems and rural livelihoods frameworks. Methods are offered for evaluating complex value-chain interventions. Research limitations/implications The paper summarizes the state of knowledge as of early 2016 in a dynamic field. Important contributions to knowledge may have been made since then. Originality/value The paper summarizes the state of knowledge in the field, and identifies emerging issues and policy implications, knowledge gaps, and priorities for future applied research.

The aim of this study was to investigate the proof-of-concept that Andean potato (Solanum tuberosum L., Andigenum Group) can be agronomically biofortified with iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) fertilizers.Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted in the Ecuadorian Andes with varying rates of foliar and soil applied Fe and Zn fertilizers to investigate the potential resulting increase in tuber Fe and tuber Zn concentrations.The study showed that simple fertilizer practices enhancing Zn supply to potato plants can increase tuber Zn concentrations. The rate of increase of tuber Zn following Zn fertilization was similar across cultivars. A concomitant negative effect of high rates of Zn applications on yield was not seen, and a maximum Zn application level for increasing tuber Zn concentration was not identified. A positive tuber yield effect was seen at one field site. High rates of foliar Zn application reached a 2.51-fold tuber Zn increase, and high rates of soil Zn application a 1.91-fold tuber Zn increase. The experiments showed no positive correlation between Fe fertilization and Fe concentration in tubers. Moreover, the study showed a strong effect of site on the concentration of Fe and Zn in tubers, and the tuber mineral concentrations across sites and treatments were negatively correlated with tuber yield.The results confirmed the proof of concept that Andean potato cultivars can be agronomically Zn-biofortified with foliar and soil applied Zn fertilizers. Tuber Fe concentrations of Andean potatoes were not increased with Fe fertilization.

Including smallholding farmers in high value markets has emerged as a pro-poor development strategy. Through a case study of a project that intended to incorporate native potato growers in the central Peruvian highlands into corporate potato chip value chains, this study investigates social differentiation among participants and nonparticipants, as well as reasons for households’ inclusion or exclusion. Household surveys and semi-structured interviews in one of the communities where the project was implemented provided the data. Results suggest that value chain participants generally have higher economic status and actively exclude lower-resource households in the community. However, non-participation is not necessarily viewed negatively by all non-participating households. Some deliberately choose not to participate to pursue other livelihood strategies or because of risks involved in participating. These findings indicate that participation in value chains is not necessarily beneficial. For such programs to have broad social benefits, policies and other institutional arrangements are needed to minimize risks of participation in such value chains and to provide support for other market outlets.

Durante la campaña agrícola 1993-1994, en la Estación Experimental Toralapa en Cochabamba, Bolivia, se evaluó el efecto residual de niveles de fertilización mineral (nitrógeno y fósforo) y de la aplicación de cal viva (Ca(OH)2) en el comportamiento agronómico del haba (Vicia faba L.). Este estudio es la continuación de trabajos iniciados por el Programa de Investigación de la Papa (PROINPA), sobre la fertilización del cultivo de la papa en 1991-1992 y los efectos residuales en los cultivos de rotación como la cebada y el haba. Los análisis de suelos mostraron que el nutriente más afectado por los niveles de fertilización fue el fósforo, con una alta disponibilidad en el suelo en el segundo año de rotación. En cambio, el efecto residual de la aplicación de cal incrementó los valores de pH, calcio, magnesio y la Capacidad de Intercambio Catiónico (CIC). Los principales resultados indican que el efecto residual de la cal, independientemente de las dosis aplicadas (10 ó 20t/ha), permiten incrementar los componentes del rendimiento en materia seca de haba: la fitomasa aérea de 49%, la nodulación bacteriana (223%), y el rendimiento en grano seco (46%) con respecto al testigo. Esto demuestra el prolongado efecto residual de la cal y su efecto positivo en la productividad del cultivo de haba. Se determinó también que el cultivo de haba es el segundo cultivo más rentable después de la papa en el sistema de rotación que también incluye la cebada. El valor actualizado neto(VAN) para el sistema de rotación (papa, cebada y haba) muestra que el nivel de 40-80-0 kg/ha de N y P2O5 combinado con 10 t/ha de cal viva es el que proporciona el mayor beneficio con 12,520 Bs/ha.(US$1=Bs 4.65). Se necesita continuar los estudios para establecer dosis óptimas de cal.Aceptado para publicación: julio 1997.