This document was prepared by the Potato Seed Production Specialist, based at the CIP-Liaison Office of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and his partners in the CAC (Central Asia and Caucasus) region. In January 2005, CIP posted an International Research staff in the CGIAR Consortium led by ICARDA to take part in the “Collaborative Program for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus”, which started operating in 1998. Currently, 9 CGIAR Centers and three other International Research Organizations, such as ICBA, AVRDC and MSU, are members of the Consortium.
To address research needs formulated by partner Institutions and describe research activities conducted in the region, this document consists of a short description of agriculture and potato status in the CAC region followed by a series of working papers that have been prepared in 2006-7. The objective is to increase awareness on potato research conducted in the region that represents a new acquisition for CIP. In this region, potato has the potential to contribute to poverty reduction since it is mostly grown by small holder farmers who are among the poorest groups in CAC.