Since the first tubers were taken from South America to Europe in the 16th century, the potato has spread across the globe and is now the third most consumed crop. However, as Ireland’s Great Famine proved, the potato is highly susceptible to disease and vulnerable to the weather extremes exacerbated by climate change.

The Andes region is the birthplace of the potato and is home to at least 4,500 types of native tuber cornucopia, including more than 100 wild potato species. Local farmers grow and eat an array of native potatoes that provide relatively high levels of zinc, iron, potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants and are fundamental to the health of Indigenous communities.

Adaptable and highly productive, the potato has saved millions from hunger. Yet one study has estimated that climate-induced weather extremes could drive 13 wild potato species to extinction by 2055 — and we know that the loss of just one species could be catastrophic. In 2007 one of many unexpected frost events wiped out the entire potato harvest in Peru’s Huancavelica region, except for the variety yana. This single variety came between local families and extreme hunger.

The Andes’ potato agrobiodiversity remains key to strengthening the resilience of farming communities and is used by scientists to breed nutritious, disease-resistant potato varieties for the world.

This year marks the CIP’s 50th anniversary. The International Potato Center recognizes biodiversity’s fundamental contribution to human and planetary health and works with Andean farmers to maintain potato diversity.