International Potato Center

About: International Potato Center is a facility organization based out in Lima, Peru. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Phytophthora infestans. The organization has 1036 authors who have published 1460 publications receiving 47183 citations.

Impacts of COVID-19 on rural livelihoods in Bangladesh: Evidence using panel data.

Abstract: Rapid assessments have been emerging on the effects of COVID-19, yet rigorous analyses remain scant. Here, rigorous evidence of the impacts of COVID-19 on several livelihood outcomes are presented, with a particular focus on heterogenous effects of COVID-19. We use a household-level panel dataset consisting of 880 data points collected in rural Bangladesh in 2018 and 2020, and employ difference-in-differences with fixed effects regression techniques. Results suggest that COVID-19 had significant and heterogenous effects on livelihood outcomes. Agricultural production and share of production sold were reduced, especially for rice crops. Further, diet diversity and education expenditure were reduced for the total sample. Households primarily affected by (fear of) sickness had a significantly lower agricultural production, share of crop market sales, and lower health and education expenditure, compared to households affected by other COVID-19 effects, such as travel restrictions. In turn, (fear of) sickness and the correlated reduced incidence of leaving the house, resulted in higher off-farm incomes suggesting that households engage in less physically demanding and localized work. Policy-makers need to be cognizant of these heterogenous COVID-19 effects and formulate policies that are targeted at those households that are most vulnerable (e.g., unable/willing to leave the house due to (fear of) sickness).

Stability of Sweet Potato Cultivars to Alternaria Leaf and Stem Blight Disease

Abstract: Alternaria leaf petiole and stem blight is an economically important disease of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatus L.) in tropical and sub-tropical environments. Published research on cultivar resistance to the sweet potato disease is limited. To evaluate cultivar reaction and stability to the disease, multi-location and replicated experiments were established in 12 environments in Uganda. Disease severity (area under disease progress curves - AUDPC), and cultivar root yield were also assessed. Significant differences (P < 0.001) in AUDPC were detected among cultivars. Mean AUDPC ranged from 46.3 (Araka Red) to 78.4 (New Kawogo) across locations and seasons and the genotypes Araka Red and Tanzania had the lowest disease values. The location and season effects accounted for 67.1% and 7.5% of the total variance of AUDPC recorded among cultivars. The ranking of cultivars based on predicted AUDPC from Additive Main Effect and Multiplicative Interactive model (AMMI) showed that the NASPOT 1, the susceptible check, and New Kawogo were most susceptible to the disease in 11 of the 12 environments. Low and stable disease was consistently recorded and predicted on NASPOT 3 and the landrace cultivars Tanzania, Dimbuca, and Araka Red across environments. These results suggest that landrace cultivars had relative stability to the disease and wide adaptation across environments. These results suggest that AMMI statistical model and other multivariate techniques can be utilized for prediction of Alternaria disease stability in these locations.

Yield trial and sensory evaluation of sweetpotato cultivars in Highland Papua and West Papua Indonesia

Abstract: With the aim of improving income and nutrition of indigenous highland people in Papua and West Papua provinces of Indonesia, trials involving introduced and local sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cultivars were conducted in the Baliem Valley and Arfak Mountains (Minyambouw), Indonesia. Tuber yield and other agronomic traits, chemical content and sensory traits for 17 introduced and three local sweetpotato cultivars were evaluated. Total tuber yield varied from 7.4 to 20.8 Mg ha –1 in the Baliem Valley and from 1.9 to 14.4 Mg ha –1 in Minyambouw. The introduced cultivars produced higher yields than the local cultivars in both regions. Cultivar Papua Pattipi produced the highest yield in the Baliem Valley, while Sawentar produced the highest yield in Minyambouw. Cultivars varied in dry matter, protein, and betacarotene. Worembai was best for tuber flesh colour, taste, texture and sweetness in the Baliem Valley, while Helaleke and Papua Salosa scored highest for all sensory traits in Minyambouw. Introduced sweetpotato cultivars adapted well to both areas. In order to reduce malnutrition and increase income, it is important to grow several sweetpotato cultivars in each food garden, including high yielding cultivars and those with specific nutritional traits, such as high protein, provitamin A and anthocyanins.

Virus Diseases of Potatoes

Abstract: More than 30 different viruses are known to affect potatoes, contributing to degeneration of the crop. In response, major efforts have been made to control virus diseases by eliminating them from propagation stocks and developing resistant cultivars, procedures whose effectiveness rely on proper identification of viruses and their detection by means of sensitive and accurate virus detection technology. Keywords: potato; virus; resistance; seed production

Comparing modeling approaches for assessing priorities in international agricultural research

Abstract: This article examines how the estimated impacts of crop technologies vary with alternate methods and assumptions, and also discusses the implications of these differences for the design of studies to inform research prioritization. Drawing on international potato research, we show how foresight scenarios, realized by a multi-period global multi-commodity equilibrium model, can affect the estimated magnitudes of welfare impacts and the ranking of different potato research options, as opposed to the static, single-commodity, and country assumptions of the economic surplus model which is commonly used in priority setting studies. Our results suggestthatthe ranking oftechnolo- gies is driven by the data used for their specification and is not affected by the foresight scenario examined. However, net benefits vary significantly in each scenario and are greatly overestimated when impacts on non-target countries are ignored. We also argue that the validity of the singlecommodity assumption underpinning the economic surplus model is case-specific and depends on the interventions examined and on the objectives and criteria included in a priority setting study.