Sweetpotato Knowledge Portal

Bio-fortified Orange Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP) features in this year's 2015 Borlaug Dialogue.

Sweetpotato for Profit and Health Initiative

"The fact that I am no longer the chair does not mean that I have washed my hands off SPHI. Whatever role I can play at the national level, I will do it. I will not relent to speak about it at any forum that I am invited to. If it succeeds, it is to the credit of the entire team and I want to be part of the winning team. So I will play any advocacy role that I can," says the outgoing interim chairman of the SPHI Steering Committee, Dr. Hans Adu Dapaah.

Over 100 participants from 14 sub-Saharan countries, and other guests from Europe, Asia, Northern America, and Latin America participated in the 6th Annual Sweetpotato for Profit and Health Initiative (SPHI), which took place from 29 September to 2 October 2015, in Kigali, Rwanda. The meeting was opened officially by a representative of the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Geraldine Mukeshimana.

There is still need for scientific research into sweet potatoe varieties as part of efforts to reduce malnutrition and increase incomes among households.

Stories by David Agba Abuja Between 29 September and 1 October, this year, over 100 global participants will convene in Kigali, Rwanda for the 6th Annual Sweet potato for Profit and Health Initiative meeting.

Ernest Baafi is a Research Scientist at the Crops Research Institute for Council of Scientific and Crop Research in Kumasi, Ghana. He is also a member of the Sweetpotato SpeedBreeders and Genomics Community of Practice.

“I did not find sweetpotato, sweetpotato found me,” says Solomon Afuape, the Head of Sweetpotato Breeding Program at the National Roots Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), located in Umudike, Southeast Nigeria.

In spite of the proven positive economic and nutritional attributes of the orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) in sub-Saharan Africa, its uptake in industrial scale food production still remains low.