The potato in your mechado, caldereta and French fries likely comes from the Cordilleras.
Potato is the major crop of the Cordillera Administrative Region, the largest producer where almost all or 86 percent of the country’s potato production comes from. The mountain provinces are planted to more than 5,819 hectares of potato.
Potato is grown for its tubers which are rich in phosphorus and vitamins B1, B2 and C. A potato crop produces more edible energy and protein per hectare and per unit of time than practically any other crop, according to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Major potato production in the Philippines is concentrated in high elevations, particularly in Benguet and Mountain Province with a temperature below 21 degrees Celsius. This temperature is suitable for growth and development of quality potato tubers, according to Ines C. Gonzales of Benguet State University’s (BSU) Northern Philippines Root Crops Research and Training Center (NPRCRTC) in La Trinidad, Benguet.
The major potato producing municipalities are Atok, Bakun, Buguias, Kabayan, Kibungan and Mankayan in Benguet province and Bauko in Mountain Province.
Potato is generally a cool-season crop grown in areas with elevation ranging from 1,000 to 8,000 meters above sea level. The growth of potato is greatly affected by temperature, day length, humidity and soil conditions.
Potatoes are used for a variety of purposes, and not only as a vegetable for cooking at home.
Less than 50 percent of potatoes are consumed fresh. The rest are processed into potato food products and food ingredients; fed to cattle, pigs and chickens; processed into starch for industry; and re-used as seed tubers for growing the next season’s potato crop.
In 2019, potato production declined to 116,000 metric tons from 117,000 metric tons in 2018, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The number of fast-food chains, hotels and local potato-based snacks food manufacturers is also increasing the demand.
These are among the reasons why local potato production cannot meet industry requirements, said Gonzales.
To boost potato production through quality seeds, DOST has funded the establishment of a Potato R&D Center. It is part of its Niche Centers in the Regions for Research and Development program.
DOST is funding the P31.355 million R&D with a counterpart fund of P4.138 million from BSU, the implementing partner institution.
The Potato R&D Center will run for three years to lay the groundwork for sustainable potato production.
The center will improve the quality of research and help improve the livelihood of local farmers at the same time, said Cynthia G. Kiswa, the program leader and NPRCRTC director.
“The center will give tangible results through the interventions for seed production and storage in producing quality seed potatoes,” she said.
Launched in October 2019, it is the first R&D center created to provide quality potato seeds to farmers. It will address the lack of a reliable and affordable source of good quality seed that is a major problem.
The Potato R&D Center is focused on the development of seeds resistant to pests and diseases, quality seed production, and the application of improved cultivation system and storage for seeds.
Detection techniques of important seed diseases and quarantine will be part of it. So will the production of disease-free planting materials from tissue culture plants grown in laboratories, and the retrieval and characterization of vanishing varieties that have good potentials.
Late blight, bacterial wilt, viruses and various insect pests such as leaf miner fly and potato tuber moth threaten productivity.
Potato is grown mostly in small farms the whole year, with one or two crops of potato grown annually in rotation with cabbages or other vegetables. – Paul Icamina
