The United Nations (UN) has declared 2008 as the International Year of the Potato.

This major event will present many opportunities to raise the profile of potato among civil society as an important world food staple, and to raise the profile of the potato as a contributor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The UN Resolution notes that the potato is a staple food in the diet of the world’s population. It affirms the need to focus world attention on the role that the potato can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty in support of achieving internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.

The Resolution goes on to invite “the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to facilitate the implementation of the International Year of the Potato, in collaboration with Governments, the United Nations Development Programme, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Centres and other relevant organizations of the United Nations system, as well as relevant non-governmental organizations.”

State Scientific Institute "Institute of Genetics and Cytology"
International Year of Potato (IYP) Secretariat
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Room C-776 Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome, Italy
Telephone: + (39) 06-5705-5859, 06-5705-4233
e-mail: potato2008@fao.org
www.potato2008.org