About Potato, The scientific name of the plant is Solanum tuberosum (L).

The potato is a starchy root vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United States to southern Chile

Synopsis (short abstract) In December 2023, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 30 May as the International Day of Potato.

1. Potatoes can grow:
• in various agroecological
zones, climates, soils
• from sea level up to 4 700
meters above sea level
The genetic
diversity can make
them resistant
to pests and
diseases.
Potatoes
can provide
small-scale
farmers with
a reliable source
of income.
Millions of people rely on
potatoes as a staple food.
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POTATO
Solanum tuberosum (L.)
AN IMPORTANT CROP
The potato was domesticated
8 000 years ago
in the Andes
There are over
5 000
potato varieties
Potatoes are produced
in 159 countries
Worldwide, 375
million metric tonnes
of potatoes were
produced in 2022.
NON-FOOD USES
Potato starch is used
as an adhesive, binder,
texture agent or filler in
pharmaceutical, textile,
wood and paper industries.
Potato peel
can be transformed
into fuel-grade
ethanol.
Potato starch
can be used as a
100% biodegradable
substitute for polystyrene
and other plastics.
Potatoes
are also used
as farm animal feed,
mostly for cattle
and pigs.
TOP 10
PRODUCERS 2022
(million metric tonnes per year)
CHINA 95.5

INDIA 56.2

UKRAINE 20.9

RUSSIAN
FEDERATION 18.9

UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA 17.8

GERMANY 10.7

BANGLADESH 10.1

FRANCE 8.0

PAKISTAN 7.9

NETHERLANDS 6.9