The 2Blades Foundation, a non-profit research organization based in the Chicago area, is a principal sponsor of a research project that recently completed the development of a potato variety that is completely resistant to late-blight.
2Blades Foundation says on its website: “The discovery is of historic importance, and now 2Blades is seeking partners to help bring this disease-resistant potato variety to market and fight hunger in East Africa.”
In Kenya and Uganda, where over 1 million smallholder farmers now grow potatoes, late-blight disease can destroy up to 70 percent (or more) of their crop. Farmers in wealthier nations spray fungicide to protect potato crops, but these treatments may be unavailable or un-affordable in developing countries.
2Blades’ partners
