This presentation is described by the following abstract

¹Chipungu FP, Chiona M, ¹Mueller EE, ¹Low J, ³Mudenda MS, ¹Mwansa S, ³Mulundu M, ³Mudenda S, ¹Heck S and ³Chikubi A

¹International Potato Centre, SSA, Zambia Agricultural Research Institute ²Mansa and ³Msekera

In 2011, the International Potato Center (CIP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and funding from USAID – Feed the Future Program proposed initiatives to integrate agriculture, nutrition, and marketing for addressing vitamin A deficiency (VAD), tagged at 54% , using pro-vitamin A, OFSP as a key entry point to help build capacity among partners in Zambia. These efforts sought to contribute to an overall goal of improving diet diversity, increasing vitamin A intakes and reducing food insecurity in Eastern Province. In collaboration with partners, the project worked in two provinces: Eastern Province, where the focus was primarily on the agriculture–nutrition intervention and roadside marketing components, and one area in Central Province, focusing on a major sweetpotato-growing area that supplies the Soweto and Mandevu markets in Lusaka, the dominant spots for sweetpotato trading. Technically, interventions included variety development and release of improved orange fleshed varieties. High quality vine dissemination was substantially through farmers referred to as vine multipliers within communities. Apart from nutrition lessons, these farmers were trained on rapidly and timely vine multiplication and promoting adoption, consumption and marketing of OFSP and its associated information. As the project winds up in September 2015, 436 vine multipliers in 73 Agricultural Camps across six implementing districts of Eastern Province and Central Provinces (97F, 328M) exist and are engaged in timely dissemination of high quality planting vines to fellow community members. Project has surpassed its goals, directly reaching 17,802 households with improved orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) planting vines through CIP, partners and vine multipliers. Seventy two percent of these households benefitted through vine multipliers. When empowered, farmer to farmer linkages are important in technology dissemination. Establishment of a vibrant value chains of roots is however a process that need innovative and concerted efforts by identified key players.