opinion and background campaign mankind” T wo years ago, the CIP latched onto the ‘international year of the potato’ to draw attention to the need to preserve the Center’s gene bank containing over 4,200 indigenous and some 800 exotic current potato varieties. In light of the ‘international year for the preservation of biodiversity’, CIP is now repeating its publicity campaign by starting the donor action ‘Hero for Life’ in early September. At Potato Europe – in the German village of Bockerode – CIP director Pamela Anderson explained what the campaign was about. With real passion, she told us about the importance of preserving the original potato and she absolutely has a point there. Every potato breeder knows how essential a global gene bank is and how fragile the gene lineage of our modern varieties is. Since the Netherlands is a major player in potato breeding, Anderson hopes to receive a big response to her campaign. What exactly are we talking about? ‘Preserving the biodiversity of our potato for eternity costs less than what all Americans together spend on chips in 24 hours’, is how the CIP director puts her argument into perspective. ‘We owe those very first potato breeders and conservationists of the world a great deal.’ Why is it so important for the world to maintain a potato gene bank? ’The story of the potato is the story of the beginning of mankind’. It mirrors both our greatest achievements and our most appalling acts. In the history of the potato, you can also see the moment at which man became a human being, who started to cultivate land, grow food and keep animals The first careful cultivation of edible plants by primitive man, many thousands of years ago, can be considered one of the greatest innovations ever. It accelerated the development of civilisation. All of a sudden we were able to have food available for an extended period of time whereas, before, it had to be searched for, which depended on time and place. The cultivation of food crops also became an activity that, for the first time, was carried out by larger groups of people working together, resulting in communities, villages, riches and prosperity. I always try to imagine that wondrous moment at which the original Andes population discovered that they no longer needed to dig up the tubers of the many potato varieties growing around them until the supply was exhausted, so to speak, but that they were able to multiply those tubers themselves. And that they were able to preserve the best eating varieties by careful selection so that they could continue to supply themselves with an abundant source of energy, energy they could well use in the sometimes harsh climate of their chosen territory. I think that this was a discovery that brought about a revolution in the history of the world.’ Don’t we have sufficient varieties and knowledge already to continue without those primary potato varieties? ‘When we now walk through a modern supermarket along shelves with potatoes, we no longer think about the history of the potato and we have forgotten that we stand eye to eye with our earliest beginning. We honour the botanist and the breeder as the persons who invented this wheel. As if they are the only ones who have helped mankind progress?! The original inhabitants of Peru knew better, however. They had the Arriwa. These were their fellow tribesmen who had been appointed as the keepers of the potatoes of the community. They were allocated the important task of making thousands of indigenous varieties from their ancient surroundings suitable for planting in the various weather and soil conditions and for all the different preparation needs. It was thanks to this wonderful crop that the Tiawanaku were able to become the very first real realm in South America. And that, later, the Incas followed their example and so created the biggest realm in the world of Potato World 2010 • number 4 5 Pagina 4

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