New Efforts to Combat an Old Scourge
With its effects on potato and tomato, late blight is the single worst disease of food crops in the world: causing as much as $10 billion in annual losses to farmers for potato alone. With climate change, the impact of late blight is expected to worsen, since rising temperatures accelerate its development and spread. This week, November 16-20, CIP is coordinating a meeting in Bellagio, Italy uniting scientists from 20 countries to critically assess the problem from multiple perspectives and design a global strategy addressing priority needs and opportunities. A key product of the meeting will be a white paper that educates policy makers in agricultural research and development on pressing late blight research demands.
Read more
Versión en Español
New Information about CIP’s Quality and Nutrition Laboratory
CIP’s Quality and Nutrition Laboratory (QNL) is devoted to evaluating and improving the nutritional quality of potato, sweetpotato, and other staple crops. QNL analyzes micronutrients and antioxidant concentrations in these foods using leading-edge technologies such as spectrophotometry, HPLC, ICP, and NIRS. Its goal is to be a worldwide reference laboratory on nutrient analysis of staple food crops with a view of improving human health and reducing poverty and hunger.
More information is available here: (
http://www.cipotato.org/qnlab)
Read more
Versión en Español
Roots and Tubers: Tapping Ancient Crops to Meet 21st Century Challenges
CIP is hosting more than 250 scientists from 41 countries, 2-6 November 2009, for the 15th Triennial Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops. The symposium will address issues regarding the potential of roots and tubers to help meet growing food security needs and improve livelihoods in a sustainable way in a time of climate change. The meeting features world-renowned scientists and experts, hands-on demonstrations, and examples of successful initiatives to help indigenous farmers by boosting the marketing and commercialization of tropical roots and tubers. It also includes the participation of Peru’s Minister of Agriculture, Adolfo de Cordova, along with the European Union Ambassador, Antonio Cardoso Melo, and other high level representatives.
Read more
Versión en Español
