This report is the second in a series of three evaluating underexploited African plant resources that could help broaden and secure Africa's food supply. The volume describes the characteristics of 18 little-known indigenous African vegetables (including tubers and legumes) that have potential as food- and cash-crops but are typically overlooked by scientists and policymakers and in the world at large. The book assesses the potential of each vegetable to help overcome malnutrition, boost food security, foster rural development, and create sustainable landcare in Africa. Each species is described in a separate chapter, based on information gathered from and verified by a pool of experts throughout the world. Volume I describes African grains and Volume III African fruits.

The potato has the potential to raise smallholder income and improve food security in Eastern Africa. While improving the quality of seed potatoes can contribute to increasing its productivity, most farmers largely rely on the seed potatoes they save themselves. Seed potato system interventions need to address the quality of specially multiplied and farm-saved seed potatoes simultaneously. This book shows that positive selectionthe selection of healthy looking mother plants for the production of seed potatoes by aware potato farmerscan contribute to improving seed potato quality and the quality of the subsequent harvest.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book provides a fresh, updated and science-based perspective on the current status and prospects of the diverse array of topics related to the potato, and was written by distinguished scientists with hands-on global experience in research aspects related to potato. The potato is the third most important global food crop in terms of consumption. Being the only vegetatively propagated species among the world’s main five staple crops creates both issues and opportunities for the potato: on the one hand, this constrains the speed of its geographic expansion and its options for international commercialization and distribution when compared with commodity crops such as maize, wheat or rice. On the other, it provides an effective insulation against speculation and unforeseen spikes in commodity prices, since the potato does not represent a good traded on global markets. These two factors highlight the underappreciated and underrated role of the potato as a dependable nutrition security crop, one that can mitigate turmoil in world food supply and demand and political instability in some developing countries. Increasingly, the global role of the potato has expanded from a profitable crop in developing countries to a crop providing income and nutrition security in developing ones. This book will appeal to academics and students of crop sciences, but also policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the potato and its contribution to humankind’s food security.

"Native to the New World, the potato was domesticated by Andean farmers, probably in the Lake Titicaca basin, almost as early as grain crops were cultivated in the Near East. Full of essential vitamins and energy-giving starch, the potato has proved a valuable world resource. Curious Spaniards took the potato back to Europe, from whence it spread worldwide. Today, the largest potato producer is China, with India not far behind. To tell the potato's story, Lang has done fieldwork in South America, Asia, and Africa."--Jacket.

This book summarizes the principles of potato production, distribution, and use and uses findings to propose planning for agricultural research and development for crop improvement programmes.

It has been the goal in this volume to summarize the current level of understanding in a number of areas relating to sweet potato production and utilization. To accomplish this, a group of authors, each with broad experience in the selected areas, was assembled. It is hoped that this volume will be useful as a beginning point- a foundation for further research efforts.

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of the world trade in one of the most important of our basic foodstuffs – potatoes. It covers everything from the history of the potato through to plant types and uses, production, consumption and demand, and pricing. It goes on to cover the trade in potatoes around the world. Since the different potato products flow in separate channels – fresh potatoes, frozen potatoes, seed potatoes and the snack and dehydrated trade – each is described individually. The international potato industry is a fascinating reference source which is essential reading not only for the growers, processors, retailers, marketers and others involved in the production chain but also for agricultural economists, fresh produce brokers and traders and national and international economic planning agencies. - The first book to provide a comprehensive overview of the world potato trade - Covers everything from the history of the potato through to plant types and uses, production, consumption and demand to pricing - Analyses the trade in fresh potatoes, frozen potatoes, seed potatoes and the fast-food, snack food and dehydrated potato industries