Providing another tool in the arsenal to help combat global hunger and poverty

Atlassian and theInternational Potato Center

The International Potato Center’s Atlassian Community License has been central to the organization’s ability to obtain and maintain an internationally recognized gold standard...

...the International Standard Organization

(ISO) accreditation 17025, for its genebank.

The International Potato Center is a research-for-

development organization, based in Lima, Peru …

1. Cali (Colombia)2. Quito (Ecuador)3. Lima (Peru)4. Huancayo (Peru)5. San Ramon (Peru)6. Cochabamba (Bolivia)7. Sao Carlos (Brazil)

8. Kumasi (Ghana)9. Cotonou (Benin)10. Huambo (Angola)11. Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)12. Nairobi (Kenya)13. Kabale (Uganda)14. Ruhengeri (Rwanda)15. Lilongwe (Malawi)16. Blantyre (Malawi)17. Chimoio (ManicaProvince, Mozambique)

18. Tashkent (Uzbekistan)19. New Delhi (India)20. Shillong(India)21. Kathmandu (Nepal)22. Dhaka (Bangladesh) 23. Bhubaneswar (India)24. Beijing (China)25. Hanoi (Vietnam)26. Lembang (Indonesia)27. Los Baños (Philippines)28. Manokwari (Papua Indonesia)29. Wamena (Papua Indonesia)30. Honar Honiara (Solomon Islands)

…with offices in 30 different countries across Asia, Africa,

and Latin America…

… and a vision of roots and tubers improving the lives of the poor.

Known by its Spanish acronym CIP, [pronounced “sip”]...

...the center received ISO accreditation in 2007 for the acquisition, maintenance, and distribution of its potato...

… and sweetpotato germplasm (the genetic material from

which plants are propagated).

The ISO accreditation provides a formal guarantee to users of CIP’s genebank that any material they receive (as tiny in vitro plantlets) is of the highest quality …

… and free of any pests or diseases.

With ISO accreditation, CIP is functioning at a standard far higher than would be expected for an organization of its type.

“The ISO accreditation really means something. It raises the quality of our service and guarantees that we are operating at a much higher level than would be expected for this type of organization – it’s a standard that you normally see only in industrial labs.”

Janny Van Beem, Head, CIP’s Acquisitions and Distribution Unit.

Obtaining and maintaining ISO accreditation is not easy. It involves

rigorous processes, validations, and quality controls, which are reviewed

annually through intensive ISO audits. CIP’s is the first genebank to

reach this standard.

The accreditation requires careful documentation of how both plant material and information move across the entire acquisition to distribution process.

Staff must be able to document that they have received special training. And there are strict guidelines regarding policies, protocols, workflow, procedures, records, and quality control.

And it’s thanks to Atlassian’s Community License for the free and open access to the Confluence Wiki application that CIP has been able to do this. Without it, just getting started would have involved considerable delays.

To qualify for the ISO accreditation:

• Over 500 documents, processes, and sources of information had to be compiled and organized.

• Processes, certifications, and materials had to be verified, with proper sign-offs.

• Multiple people, in locations around the world, needed to access, share, review, change, and approve documents.

True to its slogan, the Confluence Wiki provided a way to create, share, find, discover, and discuss content. But more than that it also helped CIP to:

Save an enormous amount of time. We were able to compile and validate

the material needed for the accreditation process in 6 months

instead of usual 1-2 years required.

Maintain a normal workflow. Less time spent compiling information meant more time for our scientists to do their jobs and get the training they needed as part of ISO standards.

Stay on schedule. All aspects of the acquisition,

management, and distribution of germplasm were brought into the

system, with participation from staff of the genebank, pathogen testing,

distribution, administration, and research informatics.

Save costs. The time savings led to big cost savings. But also, the shared platform of the Wiki meant that we could train staff on formats, paperwork, and work flows more efficiently and effectively.

Run internal audits, which we used for our

own monitoring and training.

And go green. The paper-less system helped save trees. The collaborative software and remote access for multiple users cut down on the amount of travel needed to bring people together from around the globe – reducing the project’s carbon footprint.

“It is a real time saver and enabler. The ability to quickly load and share information means we have been able to focus on the community, tapping each members’ technical expertise, streamlining monitoring and review, and promoting the collaborative process.”

Reinhard Simon, Head, CIP’s Research Informatics Unit

Because the system is flexible and easily updated, it continues to offer advantages.

Why does it matter?

Having access to CIP’s planting material, with the assurance that it does not harbor diseases or pests, can make the difference between having enough to eat – or not.

Diseases such as late blight, which was implicated in the Irish potato

famine, can wipe out a crop of potatoes in a matter of weeks. The same is true for pests and insects, which cause 30-50% of crop yield

losses in developing countries.

For 40 years, CIP has been working to reduce hunger and improve lives through scientific advancement, innovations, and sustainable strategies.

At the heart of this work is the development and distribution of potato and sweetpotato varieties that can produce greater yields, meet the needs and preferences of poor farmers, and adapt to the rapidly shifting pressures of climate change.

CIP scientists and their partners breed, adapt, and test improved varieties all

over the developing world.

And why is that significant? Because the world is not winning its battle against hunger. In 2009, the number of people going to bed hungry reached more than 1 billion. The world population is reaching 8 billion, and growing by more than 100 million people a year. Most of them live in developing countries, where pressures on natural resources and arable land are already intense.

So, we must do more with less. And potato and sweetpotato are an important part of the solution. They are the third and sixth most consumed food staples in the world. They are rich in energy and

key nutrients and able to grow on marginal lands, with less water and more potential productivity than other crops. Potatoes and sweetpotatoes

also offer potential to improve the incomes and livelihoods of the farmers who produce them,

their families, and their communities.

But the challenge is to get healthy, high-yielding varieties to the people who need them:

The differences are enormous. Even to the untrained eye, the yields and outcomes of healthy planting material are far better than those of overused, diseased, or infested varieties. That’s why it matters so much that every step we take at CIP to handle and deliver our germplasm is done with the utmost care and to the highest standards.

Local variety CIP improved variety

We are proud of the work we do at CIP. We take pride in having the first genebank in the world to achieve ISO certification – and in having an interactive web-based system to manage it that is seen as a model. Others have taken interest in emulating our Atlassian-supported system.

And we hope it will help them, too, in making advances to

help improve our world.

International Potato Center (CIP)PO Box 1558 Lima 12 Peru 51 1 349 6017

Visit us at: www.cipotato.org

CIP’s Atlassian Community License Providing another tool in the arsenal to help combat global hunger and poverty

Prepared by:Valerie Gwinner Reinhard Simon

International Potato CenterApril 2011