World Potato Congress supports FAO in launch of the second International Day of Potato: 'Shaping History, Feeding the Future'

Following the successful inaugural observance last year, FAO has to announce the theme for the International Day of Potato 2025: Shaping history, feeding the future.

This year’s theme is in recognition of the journey of the potato - from its domestication in the Andes and global dissemination following the Columbian Exchange, through the unfortunate Irish Potato Famine , to its current status as a major staple for millions - while also acknowledging the opportunities and challenges that exist across its value chain.

Yurdi Yasmi, Director of FAO Plant Production and Protection Division:

"From the soil to the plate, the potato holds the power to transform lives. To ensure a sustainable food-secure future benefitting from potato, we must accelerate the adoption of climate-smart varieties and agronomic practices, scale up access to quality seeds and promote integrated pest management of the crop. In doing so, we can grow a future where every farmer thrives, every plate is nourishing, and every harvest feeds hope."

Why an International Day of Potato?

On 30 May, we spotlight the potato, Solanum tuberosum (L.) – a crop regularly consumed by billions of people. Potatoes are a key crop across diverse farming systems globally, ranging from smallholders producing diverse heirloom varieties by hand in the Andes, to vast commercial, mechanized farms in different continents. Potatoes contribute to the food security and nutrition as well as and livelihoods and employment of people in rural and urban areas the world over. 

The Day is an opportunity to build on the International Year of the Potato, which was observed in 2008. The observance will also be used to underscore the importance of the crop to combating hunger and poverty and addressing environmental threats to agrifood systems. The roles of small-scale family farmers, a significant proportion of whom are women, in safeguarding the wide spectrum of the crop’s diversity, will also be recognized, while the cultural and culinary dimensions of the crop’s cultivation and consumption will be celebrated.

A brief history of the formation of the International Day of the Potato

In 2021, the World Potato Congress Inc, (WPC), under the support of Directors Romain Cools and André Devaux, began to explore the idea of a day to celebrate and honour the potato. Over the years, multiple countries from around the world, led by Peru, became engaged with the WPC to lobby FAO/UN on this initiative. In December 2023, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 30 May as the International Day of Potato.

After an initial launch in Rome in May of 2024 , the WPC is excited to be collaborating with the FAO again this year in launching the theme and official campaign for the second year of the International Day of Potato.

This year’s observance takes place during FAO's 80th anniversary year and aims to reflect on the critical contributions of the potato to food security and nutrition, rural livelihoods and income generation as well as identify constraints to its value chain and imagine the desired future for this staple. To support awareness-raising efforts, FAO has launched a global campaign highlighting the dietary, socioeconomic, and environmental benefits of potato production.