Where is the International Potato Center located?

The International Potato Center -- or "Centro Internacional de la Papa" (CIP) -- is a research facility based in Lima, the capital of Peru. The location of the CIP is appropriate in that, of the 4,000 edible varieties of potato, most are found in the Andes of South America.

The goal of CIP to reduce poverty and achieve food security on a sustained basis in developing countries through scientific research and related activities on potato, sweet potato, other root and tuber crops, and on the improved management of natural resources in the Andes and other mountain areas. It was established in 1971 by decree of the Peruvian government.

CIP is one of the 15 specialized research centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, an international consortium of agricultural research organizations, having joined in 1972.

In late 2015, CIP partnered with NASA to attempt to grow potatoes in a simulated Martian environment.