The following is taken from United Nations International Year of the Potato web site (http://www.potato2008.org/):

"Celebration of the International Year of the Potato (IYP) is raising awareness of the importance of the potato - and of agriculture in general - in addressing issues of global concern, including hunger, poverty and threats to the environment. With food prices are soaring worldwide, global attention is turning to an age-old crop that could help ease the strain of food price inflation.

The potato is the world's number one non-grain food commodity, with production reaching a record 320 million tonnes in 2007. Potato consumption is expanding strongly in developing countries, which now account for more than half of the global harvest. At the same time, the potato – unlike major cereals – is not a globally traded commodity. Only a fraction of total production enters foreign trade, and potato prices are determined usually by local production costs, not the vagaries of international markets. It is, therefore, a highly recommended food security crop that can help low-income farmers and vulnerable consumers ride out current turmoil in world food supply and demand.

The International Year of the Potato is raising awareness of the key role played by the "humble tuber" in agriculture, the economy and world food security. But it also has a very practical aim: to promote development of sustainable potato-based systems that enhance the well-being of producers and consumers and help realize the potato's full potential as a "food of the future".

Over the next two decades, the world's population is expected to grow on average by more than 100 million people a year. More than 95 percent of that increase will occur in the developing countries, where pressure on land and water is already intense. A key challenge facing the international community is, therefore, to ensure food security for present and future generations, while protecting the natural resource base on which we all depend. The potato will be an important part of efforts to meet those challenges..."

This exhibit, in Governement and Geographic Information from March - June, 2008, has included the actual growing of a potato and has served to raise awareness of the people who work in the library as well as for visitors. Bibliographic resources used in the exhibit are listed below and additional images can be found here NOTE: Images may not display using FireFox.

International Year of the Potato Exhibit Bibliography

Beeson, J. (1973). To a Sinister Potato.  6. n. p.: Boosey & Hawkes.

Clark, C. F. (1951). Descriptions of and Key to American Potato Varieties Lombard, P. M.; 1885-196; (Perley Maxwell).  Joint Author.  U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Circular; no. 741. Variation: Circular (United States. Dept. of Agriculture) no. 741-57. Washington [U.S. Govt. Print. Off.].

Cook, A. C. 1. (. C. (1953). Highlights of Potato Marketing. , Agriculture information bulletin  no. 114-56. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Dodge, B. S. (1970). Potatoes and People; the Story of a Plant. (1st ed.), 190. Boston: Little, Brown.

Fincher, L. J. 1. (. J. (1957). Potatoes: Facts for Consumer Education / Mountjoy, Beatrice M.; 1920- ; (Beatrice Mensch), , Agriculture information bulletin; no. 178-30. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Krauss, R. (1952). A Hole Is to Dig; a First Book of First Definitions.  48. New York: Harper.

Meltzer, M. (1992). The Amazing Potato: A Story in Which the Incas, Conquistadors, Marie Antoinette, Thomas Jefferson, Wars, Famines, Immigrants, and French Fries All Play a Part. , 116. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Scott, G. J. (1988). Potatoes in Central Africa: A Study of Burundi, Rwanda and Zaire, 159. Lima, Perú: International Potato Center.

Selsam, M. E. (1972). More Potatoes.  A Science I can read book. (1st ed.), 62. New York: Harper & Row.

Strand, E. G. 1. (. G. (1953). Farming Alternatives for Potato Growers on the Eastern Shore: (Virginia-Maryland). , Agriculture information bulletin. no. 102-95. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics in cooperation with the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station and the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station.

United States, Dept. of Agriculture , Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics, & Dept. of Agriculture. (1948). School Lunch Recipes Using Potatoes.  Program aid, no.36; Variation: Program aid (United States. Dept. of Agriculture). no.36-17. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

United States Agricultural Adjustment Administration Consumers’ Guide. (1935-37). Facts for potato consumers. Vol. 3 (4) and photograph on cover.

Workshop on Sweet Potato Improvement in Africa, UNDP Project CIAT-CIP-IITA, & International Potato Center. (1988). Improvement of Sweet Potato (Impomoea Batatas) in East Africa, with Some References of Other Tuber and Root Crops: Report of the "Workshop on Sweet Potato Improvement in Africa" Held at ILRAD, Nairobi, Kenya, UNDP Project CIAT-CIP-IITA, September 28-October 2, 1987. 201. Lima: International Potato Center.

Louis Takács
International Documents Librarian
l-takacs@northwestern.edu

  • This display includes federal government publications from GovInfo, materials from Music, Main and toys donated by Melissa Jacobi.
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Last updated: June, 2008

     
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