Food security focus at World Potato Congress
While Ireland has a long history and love affair with the potato, the potato is the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat in terms of human consumption. The crop is grown in more than 150 countries and the world’s largest producers of potatoes ranked in order are: China, India, Ukraine, Russia and the United States. It is estimated that, on average, for every person in the world 7 medium potatoes* are consumed every day. Although Ireland’s consumption ranks at 2.5 times the global average, consumption per capita is highest in Belarus, followed by Latvia.
Speaking about the World Potato Congress, Mr Janusz Wojciechowski, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development said: “It is my great pleasure to attend this year’s World Potato Congress in Dublin. As a staple food, the potato carries deep social and historical significance in Ireland, as well as in my home country of Poland, and continues to nourish populations around the globe today. For this reason, the Congress provides a perfect opportunity to discuss how we can work towards achieving sustainable food security together.”
The RDS in Dublin will host three full days of presentations and panel discussions from more than 60 international expert speakers on the key issues dominating the industry including:
Global Food Crisis
Set against a backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine; warnings from the UN that
current food shortages could “tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity”, and the fact that the World Food Programme estimates that approximately 811 million people go to bed hungry at night, Dr. QU Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, will examine the role of the potato in eliminating world hunger and poverty. On arrival in Dublin for the Congress this morning, the Director General of the FAO said that he was "delighted to be in Ireland - a country forever associated with the tuber, a country with an historic lesson in famine and a country which is today a global player on the agri-food stage." He said that the Congress was "taking place at a critical time when the entire world must address food security, global supply chain issues - while also ensuring sustainable agri-food systems, leaving no one behind." Dr. QU said he looked forward to speaking on 'The Potato in a Changing World' and learning from the important speakers partaking in the four-day Congress.
As Ukraine and Russia represent the third and fourth highest potato producing countries in the world, there will be a significant focus on the impact of the war on the future of potato production. President of the Polish Potato Federation, Tomasz Bienkowski, will address congress delegates about the role the Polish potato industry is playing, and will continue to play in assisting the coordination of Ukraine’s crop production.
Sustainability and Development
The world is faced with two existential challenges by 2050: how to provide food and nutrition security for a population of close to 10 billion people while meeting the climate target of restricting the increase in global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Tom Arnold, the Irish Government’s Special Envoy on Food Systems, will deliver a plenary presentation at the congress, examining the growing importance of the potato in contributing to farming systems, to farm household income, and to nutrition and will explore how this contribution can be further enhanced in the decades to 2050, identifying the policies, research priorities and development strategies to optimise the role of the potato in meeting climate action targets.
During the closing ceremony of the congress on Wednesday 1st June, outgoing CEO and President of World Potato Congress Inc., Romain Cools will launch ‘The Declaration of Dublin’ which will outline four key pillars by which the potato can assist in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as set out by the United Nations in 2015.
World Potato Congress Inc. is a non-profit organisation supported by a group of volunteer directors representing potato jurisdictions around the world. The 11th World Potato Congress is brought to you by the Irish Potato Federation (IPF), sponsored by DAFM, Bord Bia, Teagasc and a wide range of sponsors from across the global potato industry. Hosting this unique, global event was a major coup for the IPF who competed with several other countries to win a highly competitive bid in 2018. To date, the World Potato Congress (WPC) has been held on all seven continents, with previous host countries including Canada, China, Peru, USA, and New Zealand.