Scientists have developed a new disease-resistant potato variety, a breakthrough in combating a scourge that has cost farmers millions of dollars in losses around the world and is quickly spreading to new regions due to climate change.
Developed by the Peru-based International Potato Center, CIP, with the help of Indigenous communities in the Andes mountains, scientists say the new variety is resistant to the plant disease known as late blight, which caused the Irish potato famine in the mid-1800s. Formally called CIP-Asiryq, the variety also requires fewer fungicide sprays and cooks faster than other varieties in Peru, which could save farmers money on input costs and save households on energy expenses for cooking.
Potatoes are one of the world’s most important staple foods. They feed 1.3 billion people around the world and provide 17% of calories from food crops. Climate change is pushing late blight higher into the Andes.