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 benefitting 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.
