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Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Lima, Peru, the International Potato Center (known by the acronym CIP, from its name in Spanish) is a non-profit, scientific research institution devoted to unleashing the potential of potatoes, sweet potatoes and other roots and tubers for the benefit of the developing world. CIP’s main goals are to reduce poverty, increase environmental sustainability and help ensure food security in some of the world’s most impoverished areas. The Center also works to improve natural resource management in mountain regions, with particular emphasis on the Andes.
Interdisciplinary teams undertake research projects in more than 30 countries, seeking integrated, locally appropriate solutions to a wide range of problems affecting the production and consumption of root and tuber crops and the management of natural resources. CIP also provides training and information services to enable national researchers, policy makers, and producers to tackle problems of urgent interest to them. To encourage collaboration and information sharing, CIP has created a number of international research networks. The Center also maintains the world's largest potato genebank – with more than 5,000 distinct types of wild and cultivated potatoes – and important collections of sweet potatoes and other Andean roots and tubers.
CIP is one of 16 Future Harvest Centers worldwide and is funded by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a global confederation of governments, private foundations and international and regional organizations. Together, they support research, promote partnerships and sponsor projects that bring the results of research to rural communities, farmers and families in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Future Harvest also builds awareness of and support for food and environmental research for a world without poverty, a healthier human family, well-nourished children and a better environment.
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