Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Percentage
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
To tal advanced
To tal emerging and developing
0
Fig. 3.1.
Percentage of total world potato harvest by advanced versus emerging and developing
counties, 1990-2010. (From USDA Economic Research Service based on data of the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization, FAOSTAT; accessed
20
May 2013.)
3.2
Shifting Regional Cultivation
world production (73.5%), relative to the
26.5% production share of advanced countries
(FAOSTAT, 2013).
A near 20% increase in the world produc-
tion share over a
20-
year period is a testament to
the growing popularity of the crop in low-income
and newly industrialized markets. Increased cul-
tivation of potatoes in economically challenged
and food-insecure countries stems from the nu-
tritious qualities of the tuber, providing a size-
able amount of micro- and macronutrients for
each medium-sized potato serving (CIP, 2012a).
Potatoes are also easy to grow on small land
parcels, and can be eaten with minimal prepar-
ation and cooked without expensive equipment
(CIP, 2012a).
Potatoes also rank highly on FAO's nutrition
productivity index, a measure relating water use
and resultant calorie production. Every cubic
meter of water applied to the potato crop in culti-
vation produces an average of 5600 calories of
dietary energy. By comparison, maize, wheat,
and rice respectively produce 3860, 2300, and
2000 calories with the same water application
(FAO, 2008c). Finally, some of the growing popu-
larity in developing countries may be explained
by rising potato yields, which stands in contrast
to stagnant and declining yield gains for major
cereals (World Bank, 2008).
Shifts in regional supply patterns reflect the fact
that emerging and developing countries are cul-
tivating a growing proportion of total world po-
tato production. Historically, most potatoes were
grown in Europe and North America. However,
in 2011, Asia grew more potatoes than any
other single region and produced close to 50% of
total world output (FAOSTAT, 2013).
Europe continues to contribute a sizeable
(35% in 2011), though generally declining,
share of total production. In 2000, European
production accounted for 45.5% of total pro-
duction, down from 60.1% in 1990. North
American potato production has generally de-
clined for the past
15
years, and the area now
supplies just slightly more than 6% of world
total production, a 2% decline since 2000.
Despite gradual reductions in total produc-
tion and harvested area over the past
10
years,
North America generated the highest yields
of any region at 15.87 t acre
-
1
;
202% more
than the world average of 7.87 t acre
-
1
in 2011
(FAOSTAT, 2013). In the same year, yields from
Asia averaged 7.40 t acre
-
1
,
and while this
figure is near the world average, North American
production is significantly more efficient. For ex-
ample, for every 1 acre of potatoes cultivated in
