Online Reporter
Edgar Vhera
Specialist Writer – Agribusiness
SWEET potato production surged an incredible 525 percent this year, underlining the country’s resilience in the face of last season’s El Nino drought that caused a 25 percent decline in horticultural crop yields.
According to the crops, livestock and fisheries assessment (CLAFA-2), 2024/25 summer season report, sweet potato production rose a whopping 525 percent from 34 476 tonnes in the 2023/24 season to 215 604 in the 2024/25 season.
The 2023/24 season was ravaged by the El-Nino-induced drought that cut both hectarage and productivity.
The CLAFA 2 report shows that the area increased from 8 513 to 28 137 hectares, a giant 231 percent increase.
The average yield also rose 90 percent from 4, 05 to 7,7 tonnes per hectare.
Mashonaland East accounted for the largest area of 7 545 hectares, followed by Masvingo with 5 651 and Manicaland at 5 325.
Midlands came fourth on 3 570 hectares, with Mashonaland West at 2 959, Mashonaland Central 2 655, Matabeleland South 292 and Matabeleland North with 141.
Manicaland had the highest average yield of 10,9 tonnes per hectare, trailed by Mashonaland East on 7,3 and the duo of Masvingo and Midlands at 6,5.
The Presidential Rural Development Programme, which aims to provide 50 sweet potato vines to each of the benefiting 1,8 million households, has since distributed a cumulative total of 4 016 800 elite virus-free sweet potato seedlings since 2022 in all the country’s eight rural provinces.
Mashonaland West province received the biggest allocation of sweet potato vines totalling 865 700 ahead of Mashonaland Central with 861 750 and Midlands at 523 700.
At an average sweet potato consumption rate of 21 kilogrammes per person per year, the country requires 314 551 tonnes, a deficit of 98 947 tonnes from the local production of 215 604.
The elite virus-free sweet potato vines are being produced by Kutsaga, Low Veld Research Institute (LVRI), Coffee Research Institute (CRI) and Horticulture Research Institute (HRI).
Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) principal horticulture specialist Mrs Hilda Manditsvara said each household received 50 vines for propagation.
“From the distributed 50 vines, we are expecting them to have a multiplier effect within communities to act as a nursery from which other members in the farming communities can get their input.
Coupled with good agricultural practices (GAP), we expect that these plants will have a great impact on sweet potato productivity,” said Mrs Manditsvara.
The distributed vine package also contains some biofortified lines, which are rich in vitamins and iron and very nutritious.
“Among the basket of biofortified orange-fleshed vines that are high in vitamins A are Beauregard, Alish and Belvia. There are also other varieties like German II, Alisha and Chingovha. We are in the process of churning out more vines,” added Mrs Manditsvara.
She said farmers producing the crop supported by natural rains planted up to the end of February/March, while those with irrigation can continue to plant even in winter if there are no frost challenges.
The Government crafted the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan (HRGP) in 2020, which has a rural horticulture transformation plan anchored on the Presidential Horticulture Scheme, which seeks to create and sustain a US$1,2 billion rural horticulture economy by 2025 and up to US$3,5 billion by 2030.
It focuses on nutrition, income generation and rural agro-industry development, through aggregation, value addition and beneficiation of both indigenous and exotic vegetables and fruits tailored to the various agro-ecological regions.
The elite, virus-free sweet potato seedlings have higher yields and improved quality for food and income.
According to the HRGP, the programme will focus on the production and supply of virus-free planting material for sweet potatoes to rural households using agriculture research, colleges and universities. The intention is to double the production of sweet potatoes in the short term to increase food security while reducing the pressure on maize.
The distribution of the sweet potato vines follows the Government’s push to move citizens from overreliance on wheat bread and embrace other nutritional options.
The drilling of boreholes under the Presidential Borehole Drilling exercise, which is currently ongoing in the whole country, will catapult sweet potato crop cultivation. Drilling of boreholes in each village will make it possible for nutrition community gardens to be established and this will go a long way in allowing farmers to embark on a year-round sweet potato production cycle.
Sweet potatoes are generally an easy-to-farm crop requiring limited inputs, capital intensity and applicable on small tracts of land. Crop yields of up to 30 tonnes per hectare are possible.
