daniel chigunwe
Precious Manomano Herald Reporter
The Kutsaga Board, Low Yield Research Institute, Coffee Research Institute and Horticulture Research Institute have churned out a total number of 3 310 000 sweet potato vines that have been distributed to all provinces under the Presidential Horticulture Recovery Plan (PHRP) since the inception of the programme in 2021.
The Government through the Horticulture Recovery Plan is distributing virus-eliminated sweet potato vines to boost production.
Vines from planting material distributed will also be multiplied in irrigation schemes.
The target is to increase sweet potato national production to 1 million tonnes per year.
Under the Presidential Sweet Potato Program, 1,8 million households are set to benefit from the distribution of elite virus-free sweet potato vines at 50 vines per household which translates to 90 million sweet potatoes by 2025.
Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services (AARDS) acting director for crop production Mr Leanard Munamati indicated that a total of 150 000 sweet potato seedlings were received from Kutsaga and they were distributed on the 6th of December 2023, to Mashonaland East Province for propagation.
For this season, a total of 310 000 vines have been distributed.
“Currently there are 160 000 sweet potato vines at Kutsaga which are ready for distribution in Mashonaland West Province. Districts chosen were districts with potential for propagation of the seedlings as they have better water availability,” he said.
The crop is mainly grown in summer after the onset of the rains. A few farmers with irrigation facilities and also in areas which are not prone to frost grow sweet potatoes in winter.
The annual consumption of sweet potatoes is estimated to be 315 000tonnes.
The tubers are always in short supply after September and prices of sweet potatoes will be high.
Sweet potato production is estimated at 276 784 tonnes, a 33 percent increase from 207 529 tonnes obtained in the 2021/2022 season.
The increasing interest in sweet potato as a food security and cash crop has stimulated research and development projects aimed at realising the full potential of the crop.
Online Reporter