Colombia already has a potato production management plan for the next 20 years

The Minister of Agriculture, Jhenifer Mojica, led this Friday the National Potato Council, a space in which the Productive Management Plan was made official with the purpose of benefiting nearly 100,000 peasants and producers who are dedicated to this crop and more of 250,000 people who work in its production in 280 cold climate municipalities of 18 departments.

Jhenifer Mojica:
 

"Potato is a very important product to consolidate Colombia as an agri-food power, that is why we want a potato that doubles its production. The Potato Productive Management Plan is a work route so that productivity grows with better agricultural practices in relation to the environment, a more sustainable production for food security is crucial for humanity. With the leadership of Fedepapa we are going to create an Implementation Unit so that the Plan is not a dead letter."

He also mentioned the importance of the potato POP in terms of post-harvest actions to secure the market, price drops and promote import substitution so that the peasant economy grows. The Potato Productive Management Plan is the result of a strategic planning process that was formulated in a participatory manner and was built collectively throughout the country with the actors in the chain, both public and private, through the leadership of the Ministry and the technical support from the Rural Agricultural Planning Unit (UPRA).
 The Plan sets short, medium and long-term transformation goals, including stable harvested area that does not exceed 149,000 hectares within the agricultural frontier; increase productivity from 23.4 tons per hectare to 38.3 tons, which would allow a production of 5.4 million tons; have surpluses for export to reach foreign markets with 698,000 tons and, in this way, reduce imports to zero, and increase annual per capita consumption from 55 kilos to 79 kilos. For the director of UPRA, Claudia Liliana Cortés López, this plan clearly describes where the chain wants to go over the next 20 years.

Claudia Liliana Cortés López:
 

"It was a debt that the country had with the potato growers and that today is achieved thanks to the work with the farmers, producers, processors, Fedepapa, the National Potato Promotion Fund, unions, associations and institutions. It is the tool to improve the social, economic and environmental sustainability of those who depend on this crop."

Now the country has a technical instrument that supports public policy decisions that seek to improve agricultural productivity, consumption, food security, competitiveness, legal security over land ownership and seek to protect men and women who work. and they live off the cultivation of potatoes.

In Colombia, there are more than 141,465 hectares planted with potatoes, with an approximate annual production of 3,123,570 tons and a participation close to 1.4% of the value added by the agricultural sector to the economy, present in the first lines of the economy. peasant in Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Nariño, Antioquia, Cauca, Santander, Norte de Santander, Tolima and Valle del Cauca.

Germán Palacio, President of Fedepapa:
 

"This plan also aims for producers to be able to sell directly to large chains, to the national industry and thus reduce intermediation that increases costs for the basket of Colombians."