The first World Potato Atlas was developed at the International Potato Center (Centro Internacional de la Papa, or CIP) in the 1980s and maintained for several years – primarily by Robert Rhoades, Douglas Horton, Luisa Huaccho, and Robert Hijmans – to provide country-specific information about potato cultivation, constraints, and uses, with a focus on poverty, especially resource-poor farmers.

Working as a consultant to CIP, I was the principal author of an update, released in 2006, providing more detailed information of a limited selection of countries. The updated atlas also covers a wider range of topics, some more political than agronomic. T0 quote Anthony Bourdain, “Nothing is more political than food. Nothing.”

The atlas currently focuses on nineteen countries, selection based on the importance of potato, as well as poverty assessed by several factors of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Other remnants of the original atlas have been enshrined as the “archive chapters,” generally very obsolete, but of at least historical interest to some.

This project was followed by the World Sweetpotato Atlas, taking a similar approach to several countries in Africa and the Asia Pacific region.

As of 2020, this has become a more personal project, since CIP no longer financially supports it. I have made many revisions and updates, but to remain relevant, the atlas needs active collaboration from interested readers, like you. Any new input would be much appreciated and readily acknowledged.

Please feel free to contact us.

Kelly Theisen