Ethiopian farmers help researchers select potato varieties that the market demands International Potato Center [Video]

Potato is important to food security and a cash crop in Ethiopia with high potential to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, who account for 83% of the total population and hold 95% of agricultural land. It is widely grown in the highland areas and is one of the few fast growing commodities expanding into non-traditional areas.

The International Potato Center (CIP) has partnered with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) potato breeding program since 1975 with the objective of improving the productivity and profitability of potato through research and innovation in science, technology and capacity strengthening. The collaboration has, so far, resulted in the release of about 29 CIP-bred varieties with late blight resistance, high yield, and good quality traits. Among those released varieties, ‘Gudene’ is the most widely grown because of its culinary characteristics and late blight resistance.

According to Gebremedhin Woldegiorgis, a potato breeder at …