Potatoes Are Becoming More Than Just an Agricultural Crop in Peru

With 3,500 varieties of potato, Peruvian entrepreneurs are, and have been, taking potato production to the next level through innovative new uses for their country’s most recognized crop. According to the executive director of CITE Papa, Celfia Obregon Ramirez, potatoes have become one of Peru’s greatest sources of innovation.

Peruvian entrepreneurs of every background and industry are going far beyond the usual uses for potatoes. They’re tapping into their every property and quality, including that of the inedible varieties.

CITE Papa, for example, has joined the movement through an alliance with the University of Wisconsin – Madison (USA), the largest potato research center in the world. Together, they’re working to obtain a formula for producing beer from potatoes.

Other pioneering new uses for Peru’s potatoes include 14Inkas, a vodka distilled from Peru’s native potatoes, as well as a new technology that will be able to produce recyclable plastics from potato starch. Some innovators are even looking into using potatoes to generate power.

The possibilities are infinite when it comes to potato innovation in Peru.