In the many parts of Africa that have a long dry season, farmers complete the main harvest of sweetpotato roots by the early part of the dry season. This harvest and desiccation during the remaining part of the season destroy the foliage of these crops, so those that supply vines for planting when the rains return are the few grown during the dry season in swampy areas or where they can be irrigated – and most farmers do not have such land. This makes these vines valuable and their production and sale as planting material become businesses. Some get traded long distances, creating roles and jobs within value and supply chains.