The International Potato Center believes in the export potential of Finnish seed potato
Press release 162/2007
3 September 2007
Dr Pamela Anderson, Director General of the International Potato Center is visiting Finland on 5-6 September. The international potato research centre CIP, operating in Peru - the country of origin of potato - promotes potato growing and research all over the world. The institute belongs to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a World Bank alliance of agricultural research institutes, with 14 other institutes, each dedicated to a particular agricultural product.
In Finland, Director General Anderson will meet Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sirkka-Liisa Anttila, as well as representatives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, MTT Agrifood Research Finland, and Helsinki University. Dr Anderson has visited Finland before and is of the opinion that the Finnish potato research is of high standard. She believes that the Finnish potato growers have good chances of increasing the export of seed potato to the world. Recently, both China and India have included cultivation of potato as part of their national programmes for promotion of food safety, which will increase the number of potato users by two and a half billion people and, consequently, increase the international demand for seed potato.
MTT Agrifood Research Finland has invited the International Potato Center to join the international research cooperation programme 'Sustainability of the Food Chain' for sustainable development of food safety. The intention is also to attract some European Union funding for the programme. On Thursday, 6 September, Director General Anderson will visit MTT at Jokioinen, where the cooperation plans will be discussed in closer detail.
Additional information: Counsellor Kimmo Pulkkinen, Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5646, Senior Officer Marja-Liisa Tapio-Biström, International Affairs Group, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, tel. +358 9 1605 4203, Head of International Cooperation Ritva Ojala, MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Jokioinen, tel. +358 3 4188 2808, requests for interviews: [email protected]