Cuchi pelo. Llunchuy. Puma maky. Yawar. These foreign and exotic names are names of native potatoes that will soon be appearing on the tables of Peruvian households.
As the VI National Festival of Papa Nativa and the National Day of Papas are scheduled for this weekend, a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture is proud to announce that Peru is the largest potato producer in Latin America and ranks 14th in the world.
Mirna Zuzunaga, director of the Agricultural Business Section at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, affirmed that the “potato has been and is still one of the most important foodstuffs used to combat hunger and poverty. In Peru and many other parts of the world, potato is the most consumed tuber.”
At the inaugural event for the VI National Festival of Papa Nativa, Zuzunaga highlighted the festival’s network for promoting the consumption of all varieties of potatoes including wenjos, la poca sonjo, la sangre de toro, quecorani, runtus, wirapasña and la cacho de toro, among others.
The festival is scheduled to take place May 29-31 and is free to the public at the Parque de la Exposicion and in the Plaza Mayor of Surco.
Last year 4.6 million tons of Andean tubers were produced on a cultivated area of 317,648 hectares. Throughout Peru, the potato can be found growing in 19 different regions, some reaching altitudes of 4,200 meters (13,780 feet) above sea level.
Source: Peru This Week