La pomme de terre : histoire et développement économique

The International Year of the Potato (IYP) in 2008 raised awareness of the importance of the potato in addressing issues of global concern, including hunger, poverty and threats to the environment. An integral part of the global food system, the cultivated potato traces its origin to Andean and Chilean landraces developed by pre-Colombian cultivators. Taken to Europe by the Spanish, the potato was widely adopted, after initial hesitation, by farmers. During the 18th and 19th centuries, European colonialism and emigration took the potato to all corners of the globe. Since the 1990s, potato production has expanded dramatically in Africa, Asia and Latin America, from less than 80 million tons in 1990 to a record of 180 million tons in 2009. International Year has contributed to growing recognition of the tuber's nutritional benefits and its role in countering the effects of cereal price inflation. It serves increasingly as a source of cash for low-income farm households and as a raw material for value-added processed products. However, developing countries have not been beneficiaries of expanding international trade in potato. As a group, they have emerged as leading net importers of the commodity.