Clean seed systems for roots, tubers and bananas: What can Tanzania learn from the US?

Kwame Ogero of the International Potato Center takes an in-depth look at the National Clean Plant Network for Sweetpotato in the United States, drawing lessons for Tanzania, where sweetpotato is a major source of food and income.

Early this year, I got a chance to visit and share experiences with stakeholders involved in sweetpotato seed systems in the USA. This was through a nine-week placement at Louisiana State University’s Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter) made possible through the CGIAR-Norman Borlaug Fellowship supported by the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS). My activities included studying the role of sweetpotato foundation seed programs in maintaining the integrity of commercial seed stocks by providing virus-tested (VT) foundation seed to commercial producers.

Working at LSU AgCenter under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Clark and Dr. Arthur Villordon, I learnt how virus-tested foundation seed is produced and disseminated to farmers through the elaborate and well-coordinated National Clean Plant Network for Sweetpotato (NCPN-SP).

Continue reading this story on the CGIAR’s Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas website.