Sweetpotato Knowledge Portal
Sweetpotato is used in various food preparations in place of rice, cassava, yam and plantain in Ghana. In spite of this it does not have the same importance in Ghanaian diet as other root and tuber crops. Consumer taste, preference and acceptance are critical in determining the suitability of sweetpotato cultivars to …
Read More »Breeding Superior Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato Cultivars for West Africa
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is of public health significance in the developing world. In spite of extensive promotion of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) varieties (OFSPs), they are poorly utilized in Ghana because of their low dry matter and high sugar content. The objective of this study was to develop farmer- and consumer-preferred betacarotene-rich varieties to …
Read More »Workshop at the CSIR-CRI Ghana seeks to improve use of breeding tools
On May 24 to 27, 2016, sweetpotato breeders from CIP, CSIR-Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI) and CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute in Ghana participated in a 3 day workshop at CSIR-CRI in Kumasi to learn how to use sweetpotatobase (SPbase).
Read More »Current Status and Future Direction for Research on Agricultural Biotechnology in Ghana
Biotechnology and related fields of science have over the years been used extensively to revolutionize agriculture and crop production. Although Genetic Engineering (GE) technology has rapidly progressed worldwide and several initiatives on the broadening of biotechnology research and outreach exist in Africa, GE is yet to be applied in crop …
Read More »WAAPP-NCoS GHANA REGIONAL CONFERENCE, 2016
About The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) initiated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member countries is part of the implementation of the agricultural sector of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). WAAPP aims to support regional cooperation in West Africa agriculture that reflects the action plans …
Read More »First ToT Course on ‘Everything You need to Know about Sweetpotato’ in Ghana
This article was written by the Local Organizing Committee of the ToT Course and posted on their behalf by Damian Laryea The first ever 10-day Training of Trainers course titled ‘Everything you need to know about sweetpotato’ was held at International Centre for Innovative Learning- Kwame Nkrumah University for …
Read More »Prof. Ibok Oduro talks about the excitement of sweetpotato processing
“I’m always very excited to work with sweetpotato because you can look at its nutrient strength and tap into that strength to develop products for all age groups, from the young to the old,” says Prof. Ibok Oduro, the head of the Department Food Science and Technology at Kwame Nkrumah University of …
Read More »Poster: Sand storage – an innovation to extend the shelf-life of fresh sweetpotato for home consumption and market sales finding from Ghana and Malawi
African farmers have developed a range of practices in an effort to store sweetpotato roots and extend shelf-life. These include storage in soil, grass or ash, storage in pits, leaving roots in the ground and harvesting piecemeal as required, or processed into sun-dried chips. β-carotene, an important source of dietary vitamin …
Read More »Presentation 20: Consumer participation in Ghana’s sweetpotato breeding program: The consumer preference approach
Breeders in Ghana are faced with the challenge of getting consumers to adopt their varieties and even more so the orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). This is as a result of idea that sweetpotato are generally too sweet. It is therefore important to ascertain whether new varieties meet consumers’ preference. Hence the …
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