An unceasing combat: The development of new improved potato clones resistant to the different kinds of late blight disease is one of the priorities of CIP’s scientific work. Commonly known as “rancha” in the mountains of Peru, late blight is one of the worst agricultural diseases in the world. It affects the crops of potato in upper and lowlands, in temperate and tropical regions, both in industrial plantations and on small family farms. In Peru, it is estimated that some 60 000 ha of potato —a third of the total production—located in the eastern slope of the Andes, are exposed to the intense attack of the disease.

The problems are various, also the solutions: CIP scientists design comprehensive technologies and potato pest and disease management strategies adapted to each site, under the slogan "for each need, a different solution." The components include the use of resistant varieties, cultural practices of improvement, biological control, and traps for insects and rational use of pesticides, all with the purpose of diminishing the use of chemical insecticides. The potato is one of the commodity crops that most uses these products. Developing countries spends about US$300 million per year on the chemicals. In Latin America, the pesticides are often used indiscriminantly, as well as other agro-chemical substances prohibited in the developed countries.

Farmers Field schools: learning by doing. An innovative method of non-formal teaching has been producing its first successful results. The method helps the participants – poor Andean farmers – to learn by experimenting and interacting with specialists during the whole cultivation process. The training lasts the entire cycle of the crop and the participants learn how to integrate pest and disease management based on agro-ecological principles. The specialists, in turn, learn ancestral practices, so the training becomes a “round-trip”. Using this method has allowed the release two new potato varieties for the Cajamarca market: Atahualpa, and Chata roja.