The International Potato Center, or CIP (Centro
Internacional de la Papa), is an international
agricultural research centre with 150 scientists,
working together with national agricultural
systems in almost 50 countries in the developing
world. Our headquarters are in Lima,
Peru, but we also have offices in China, Indonesia,
the Philippines, India, Kenya and
Ecuador. It is my honour and challenge to be
the Director of Research for CIP.
CGIAR Future Harvest Centres
CIP is one of the 16 international agricultural
centres belonging to the Consultative Group for
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
We refer to our centres as the Future Harvest
Centres. Eleven of these 16 centres, including
CIP, are “in-trust” centres. This means that we
have signed an agreement with the United
Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
to hold “in trust” for humanity genetic resources
that are critical for the food security of
the world.
CIP is responsible for holding “in trust” the
genetic resources for potatoes and sweet potatoes.
In addition to this, we have also, in collaboration
with Switzerland, agreed to assume
responsibility for the conservation of genetic
resources for nine species of what we call Andean
root and tuber crops: Ulluco, Yacon,
Ahipa, Oca, Mashua, Maca, Arracha, Achira,
and Mauka.
Root and Tuber In-Trust Collections in
CIP Genebank
The “in-trust” collection is composed of 4,049
accessions of the eight cultivated species of
potato, 3,621 accessions of sweet potato, and
1,409 accessions of the nine Andean root
and tuber species. We also hold collections of
the wild relatives of the cultivated species
as these are important to the plant breeding research,
and we conserve the improved
varieties that we develop for potato and sweet
potato.
This collection is conserved in four states: ex
situ we conserve in true botanical seed, in
tuber form, and in cryopreservation. Some of
the material is also preserved in in situ
collections. We keep security back-ups (black
boxes) for each of the collections. The conservation
of these genetic resources is a costly
undertaking, but it is a responsibility that
we take very seriously.
I would like to stress two points before I continue:
First, the CGIAR Centres are research
centres. Our job is to produce global public
goods that will contribute to the alleviation
of hunger and poverty through sustainable production
systems. Second, we develop and
share the benefits of the genetic resources that
we conserve, with a series of different endusers,
or beneficiaries:
- the broader research community,
- the national agricultural research systems, and
- the farmers and farming communities.
Now, I would like to provide some examples –
in this case, potato – of the kind of benefits
or global public goods we are developing and
sharing with each of these different end-users.
Co-operators’ Guide Variety Online Catalogue
For the broader research community, the most
important benefit that we share is information.
When we talk of global public goods and genetic
resources we tend think in terms of physical
assets, for example improved potato germplasm.
But information assets can be equally important,
and we are beginning to make significant
investments in developing information systems
and information assets.
For example, we are currently developing an online
guide so that when researchers and cooperators
request improved germplasm they can
also access and obtain the information that
we have generated relevant to that germplasm,
i.e., data from the Standard Evaluation Trials
(SETs).
CGIAR Genebanks and SINGER
There is a system-wide effort to make information
on genetic resources available in all 11
of the CGIAR “in-trust” centres. Under the
leadership of the International Plant Genetic Resources
Institute (IPGRI), the Centres have
developed a system called SINGER. This is a
standardised database and basic information
system for the genetic resources available across
the CGIAR system. Beyond the basic data in the SINGER database, the CIP is also developing
additional information systems and databases,
such as the Co-operators’ Catalogue with
the SETs data.
Genetic Resources Knowledge Development
Areas covered include:
- Information on the characterisation of wild and
cultivated germplasm,
- Taxonomy and systematics of the genetic resources
that we hold,
- Software tools to assess genetic diversity,
- Biological information on geneflow,
- Molecular information on genetic maps,
- Information on in situ conservation, and farmer-
managed genebanks.
So, the primary benefits that we share with the
international community are information
and knowledge on genetic resources. We believe
that we can increase the benefits of the genetic
resources and the physical assets (varieties)
that we have developed if they are accompanied
by information assets that we have
also generated.
Regional Seminar on Access to Plant Genetic
Resources
Within the research community at the regional
level, CIP is playing a critical role in convening
a regional forum on access to plant genetic
resources. In July 2003, we hosted a working
seminar to address this issue.
The Andean region is in the unique situation
of having the International Treaty, regional
legislation (Decision 391) and national legislation
in place.
Evolution of Germplasm Acquisitions into
the CIP Genebank
Acquisition of new genetic resources essentially
came to a halt in 1994, primarily as a result
of the conflicting natures of the international,
regional and national laws that are in place.
The CIP regional team is working towards recommendations
for lawmakers that will harmonise
the international, regional and national
laws on genetic resources. If we are not successful
in this endeavour, the collection and movement
of genetic resources will be paralysed.
CIP and CGIAR Intellectual Property Guidelines
Related to Genetic Resources
In addition to generating and sharing scientific
information on genetic resources and promoting
the legal reform to guarantee continued access to genetic resources, the CIP also has a
committee on Germplasm Acquisitions and
Distribution. This committee addresses critical
policy issues on genetic resources, e.g., intellectual
property. Our primary objective here is
to protect the physical and information assets
that have been developed as global public goods
and guarantee that they remain in the public
domain.
Distribution of Potato Germplasm
In terms of the national agricultural research systems,
the most important benefit that we
share is probably the germplasm itself. Over the
last 30 years, CIP has distributed almost
100,000 samples of potato germplasm to more
than 150 countries.
With that potato germplasm, Bolivia generated
and released 26 potato varieties; Peru 24
varieties, and Ecuador 12 varieties between 1970
and 1990. As an example, just one of those
varieties, the Canchan variety released by the
national agricultural system of Peru, is estimated
to have a benefit of $90 million per year.
Capacity Building
With national partners, we also undertake
considerable training and capacity building in
the area of genetic resources. For example,
in the last three years we have conducted training
in: taxonomic, morphological and molecular
characterisation of genetic resources; in
vitro/seed conservation; genetic diversity assessment;
and database management.
The head of our Germplasm Bank, Dr. William
Roca, is particularly worried about who will
take care of and curate our genetic resources collections
in the future. Dr. Roca has established
a young curators’ programme, through
which CIP will train the next generation of
genetic resources curators for the Andean region.
Virus-Free Native Potatoes for Restoration
The CIP has an active programme of restoration
and repatriation of potato germplasm with
farmers and farm communities.
It is estimated that potato farmers in the Andes
are currently growing approximately 4,500
different native potato varieties (or land races),
which serve as a main source of food and
income generation for over 30 million people in
the Andes from Colombia to Northern Argentina.
However, quite often the farmers lose
these varieties due to attacks by pests and
diseases, severe climatic events or even social unrest. In the last five years, CIP has returned
2,200 samples of over 1,000 native potato
varieties that we hold in the “in-trust” collection
back to 31 farming communities in
the Andes.
In mid-1997, a group of farmers from San Jose
de Aymara in Central Peru requested help
from CIP to recover the vigour and yield of the
200 native potato varieties that they were
growing. These varieties had become low-yielding
due to an accumulation of viruses. We
took native potato varieties from the CIP Genebank,
cleaned them, and were able to return
244 virus-free native potato varieties to the San
Jose de Aymara farmers. The farmers reported
yields up to 2.5 times higher with the restored
material.
In 1998, due to an El Nino event, there was a
severe potato late blight attack in the highlands
of Peru and the farmers of two communities
suffered total loss of 44 native potato
varieties, which also meant that they had no
planting material for the following seasons.
Through a local radio programme, we invited
communities to contact CIP and were able
to restore 109 virus-free native potato varieties
to those communities, including all of the
44 varieties that they had lost.
Repatriation
CIP is also working with a project in Cuzco
called “The Potato Park”. This is a grass-roots
initiative to integrate local biodiversity conservation,
the collection of local knowledge, and
sustainable utilisation of local agro-biodiversity,
and agro-ecotourism. Together with six
farming communities around Cuzco, we studied
the diversity of local potato varieties and in
2002 we repatriated 206 potato varieties to the
Potato Park.
New CIP Methodologies
In addition to cleaning and returning varieties
to local communities, CIP is addressing how
to achieve greater impact on farmers’ incomes
through improved biodiversity-use strategies,
and developing models for what we call a “Marketing
Approach to Conserve Agricultural
Biodiversity”.
In essence, we are developing models for how
to identify or create a market demand for
products and then create an “agri-market chain”
to link poor farmers to that market. The objective
is to generate greater income for poor
farmers, and simultaneously motivate increased
conservation of their agricultural biodiversity
because it has greater value.
Jalca Chips
One example is potato chips made from native
potatoes. We considered that there should
be a market for these potatoes, and began working
on a marketing approach to develop this
product and create a greater incentive to conserve
and use this agricultural biodiversity.
Others seem to agree that there is a market – my
colleague at CIP, Dr. Roger Cortbaoui, recently
returned from France, where he had seen an
advertisement for “Terra Blues”.
The CIP selected potatoes from more than
3,800 ancient varieties domesticated by pre-Incan
societies. Jalca Chips are produced from
native potatoes that flourish only in the mountainous
Jalca region of the high Andes.
The lead scientist for Jalca Chips is Dr. Thomas
Bernet, a Swiss scientist working with CIP on
a Swiss Research Fellowship Partnership Project.
We are extremely excited by the potential
of the research that Thomas and his team are
conducting. The lessons that we are learning
from this experience are being shared in the
region through several of the partnership
platforms that CIP hosts and co-ordinates: Papa
Andina, INNOVA and INCOPA.
We have designated that ten percent of the consumer
price will go to the Native Potato
Project, to help generate funds for biodiversity
conservation, research and marketing activities
specifically for native potatoes; provide information
about native potatoes and promote
social marketing, and help expand the demand
and develop new products.
Using the case of potatoes, I have given you an
idea of some of the benefits that are derived
from genetic resources and how we are sharing
them with different beneficiaries: other researchers,
national agricultural programmes and
the farmers themselves.
What I have illustrated
with potatoes is equally true for sweet potatoes
and the Andean root and tuber crops.
In addition to discussing sharing the benefits
from genetic resources, I also would like to
reflect for a moment on sharing the costs, and
specifically the financial costs, for genetic
resources. The collection, the conservation, the cleaning
and characterisation of our “in-trust” genetic
resources are the cornerstones for all of the
“benefit sharing” activities. This is a costly
endeavour.
For example, the operational costs
for the basic conservation of the Andean
Root and Tuber collection, which CIP and Switzerland
agreed to take on together, are
$200,000 per year. That is just physically maintaining
(i.e., reproducing) the collection and
does not include new collections, cleaning-up,
distribution, research or staff time. And that
is our smallest collection.
Conserving the genetic resources in our collection
is a non-negotiable responsibility that
we take very seriously, but it is indeed a
costly undertaking.
One of the reasons that I was so pleased to participate
in this symposium is because Switzerland
is one of our most committed donor
partners, in terms of sharing the costs.
I wanted to come and thank you personally.
The results that I have shown you today
are also your results, and I hope that you are
proud of them and proud of what we are
achieving together. And I hope that I have convinced
you that the results and the benefits
that are being derived and shared from the genetic
resources merit continued support. If
we cannot maintain the collections, then there
will be no benefits to share.
On behalf of CIP, let me express my sincere
gratitude to citizens of Switzerland and SDC for
your continued support and contribution to
our research, and to feeding the poor and hungry
citizens of the world.
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