Just like its name, this kind of sweetpotato is orange in colour with a sweet aroma when cooked. Apart from being delicious, the sweetpotato is extremely rich in beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A, according to nutritionists.
Read More »Open Source in the Field: Two Case Studies from Open Data Kit (ODK) – DIAL
Open Source in the Field: Two Case Studies from Open Data Kit (ODK) – DIAL Open Data Kit (ODK) is a suite of mobile data collection tools designed to replace paper-based forms when gathering data of all kinds in low connectivity areas. The idea to develop ODK stemmed, in part, …
Read More »Army Worms: A threat to Food Security in Rwanda
Written by Donata Kizza and Aime E. Ndayisenga In early 2017, army worms were reported to have invaded Rwanda destroying maize, sweetpotato, among other crops. This was the first time the country had experienced an army worm attack which caused damages on a large sweetpotato seed multiplication site at the Rwanda …
Read More »HarvestPlus one of 4 finalists in tough MacArthur Foundation 100%Change Competition.
Dear friends, We learned the exciting news today that HarvestPlus has been awarded $15 million as a finalist in the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change competition. We are deeply grateful for this generous award and we are humbled to receive such recognition of the remarkable …
Read More »Improving the plants that Africans eat and breeders neglect
Improving the plants that Africans eat and breeders neglect CASSAVA and sweet potatoes. Lablab beans and water berries. Bitter gourds and sickle sennas. Elephant ears and African locusts. Some will be familiar to readers in rich countries. Others, probably not. Elephant ears, for example, are leafy vegetables. African locusts are …
Read More »Orange-fleshed sweetpotato experience highlighted at 3rd International Conference on Global Food Security in Cape Town, South Africa
Written by Dr. Jan Low One of the Global Challenges being addressed at the 3rd International Conference on Global Food Security, held 3rd -6th December, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa, was how sustainable agriculture could serve the foundation of food security and exploit its potential to secure livelihoods. …
Read More »Managing Food Safety and Quality in Small-Scale Food Processing for Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) Value Chains in Sub-Sahara Africa training workshop
Managing Food Safety and Quality in Small-Scale Food Processing for Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) Value Chains in Sub-Sahara Africa training workshop took place on 4th – 8th of December, 2017 at the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya. The training was attended by 27 participants (15 men and 12 …
Read More »Farmers in Malawi come together to form a National Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato Association
Written by Brian Kachisa, CIP Training and Promotion Officer Market linkages is one of the key issues that inhibits the development of agriculture among smallholder and commercial farmers in Malawi. This limitation is especially prominent in relatively new crops such as orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes (OFSP) for which the market is …
Read More »Orange-Fleshed SweetPotato: Improving Lives in Malawi
Mabvuto Mndau is a 41-year old entrepreneur from Malawi with a passion for agricultural production. He is a multiplier of planting material of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) varieties along the shores of Lake Malawi in Chikoleza Village, Golomoti EPA in Dedza District, as well as on his farm in Mchinji …
Read More »