Nigeria is the second largest sweetpotato producing country in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with annual production estimated at 3.9 million metric tons per year. Sweetpotato is grown in all 36 states, with significant production in each of the six geo-political regions, with around a third of total production concentrated in the North-Central states. According to FAOSTAT, from 2007 to 2011, sweetpotato ranked seventh in terms of aggregate national production in Nigeria after cassava, yam, rice, maize, sorghum and millet. Sweetpotato is the fourth most important root and tuber crop, after cassava, yam and taro. An estimated 41% of Nigerian children under the age of 5 are stunted and 23% are underweight. Every year, an estimated 861,000 Nigeria children die before the age of five. Over a third of these deaths are attributed to undernutrition. Almost 30% of preschool aged children in Nigeria are deficient in vitamin A, a micronutrient that helps young children grow and develop normally and stay healthy.