Two AsiaBlight Regional Representatives were among the five winners of the Bursary Delegate Video competition at the 13th World Potato Congress, held in Naivasha, Kenya, from 26 to 30 October 2026:
- Waqas Raza, Regional Representative for Pakistan, Dingxi Potato Research Institute — 3rd place
- Pham Thi Thu Huong, Regional Representative for Vietnam, Field Crops Research Institute — 5th place
They shared the podium with Gailyne Muthoni (Nakuru Tubers, Kenya), Ruth Kabiru (CropCare AgriHub, Kenya) and Meksy Dianawati (Indonesia), who took first, second and fourth place.
The WPC travel bursary programme, supported by the Congress’s Diamond and Platinum Sustaining Partners, enabled more than twenty delegates to attend WPC 2026. New this year, applicants could submit a short video introducing themselves and their work in the potato value chain, their passion for the crop, and how attending the Congress would support their work and communities. The five strongest videos received additional travel bursary awards.
Waqas was among the first Regional Representatives to run the AsiaBlight sampling protocol after the Beijing training, and his Pakistan samples are now being genotyped at CIP-CCCAP. Huong has represented Vietnam in the network since its early years.
Congratulations to all five winners.
