Everything

You Ever
Wanted to
Know about
Sweetpotato

MEMORY AID CARDS

July 2018
These memory aid cards are support materials to
accompany the ‘Everything you ever wanted to know about
sweetpotato’ manual and training course1.
They are a set of cards which sequentially cover different
sweetpotato topics. Each card has a photo or diagram on
the front and key points related to the topic on the back.
We hope that trainers will use this set of cards as a useful
instant notebook or presentation tool at points during their
training activities.
However, please note: this set of cards have been prepared
as memory aids – they should never replace practical
learning-by-doing activities and discussions with farmers

For further information please contact: Jan Low j.low@cgiar.org

1 Stathers, T., Low., J., Mwanga, R., Carey, T., McEwan, M., David., S., Gibson, R., Namanda, S., McEwan, M., Malinga, J., Ackatia-
Armah, R., Benjamin, M., Katcher, H., Blakenship, J., Andrade, M., Agili, S., Njoku, J., Sindi, K., Mulongo, G., Tumwegamire, S.,
Njoku, A., Abidin, E., Mbabu, A., Mkumbira, J., Ogero, K., Rajendran, S., Okello, J., Mudege, N., Bechoff., A., Ndyetabula, D., Maru,
J., Munyua, H., (2018). Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Sweetpotato: Reaching Agents of Change ToT Manual.
International Potato Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
The origin and spread of sweetpotato across the world

2.1
 The origin and spread of sweetpotato across the world

Where does sweetpotato

come from?
2.1

• Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) was domesticated at least 5,000

years ago in tropical America
• Latin America is believed to be the centre of origin of sweetpotato, and
sweetpotato was brought to Africa by slave traders in the 16th Century
• There are numerous varieties of sweetpotato with different root and leaf
shapes and colours and tastes
• The roots and leaves can be cooked and eaten in various ways and can
also be used as animal feed or industrial products
• Sweetpotato roots are a healthy food: with good amounts of vitamin C and
E, several B vitamins, potassium and fibre. Roots that are orange inside
(orange-fleshed) have high levels of pro-vitamin A
• The orange-fleshed sweetpotato roots can be used to help tackle vitamin
A deficiency in the 43 million under 5 children across Sub-Saharan Africa
who suffer from it

MEMORY AIDS Origin and importance of sweetpotato - 2.1

 Growth in cultivated crop area of the main African
field crops from 1994 to 2011
260
Potato
240 Sweetpotato
Index of Area (base year 1994=100)

Beans, dry
220
Yams
200
Cassava

180 Sorghum

Rice, paddy
160
Millet
140
Groundnuts

120 Maize

Cowpeas, dry
100
Wheat
80 Barley
2006
1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011
2.2
 Growth in cultivated crop area of the main African
field crops from 1994 to 2011
260
Potato
240 Sweetpotato

Index of Area (base year 1994=100)

Trends affecting sweetpotato
Beans, dry
220
Yams
200
Cassava

180 Sorghum

Rice, paddy
160
Millet
140
Groundnuts

120 Maize

Cowpeas, dry
100
Wheat
80 Barley

2000
1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011
2.2

• Sweetpotato is the 7th most important food crop in the world in

terms of production
• Root and tuber crops give higher yields per unit area that grain crops
• As population increases the cultivable land size is reducing and
farmers in Sub-Saharan African are responding by growing more root
and tuber crops
• In the graph you can see that since 1994 the areas under
sweetpotato and potato in Sub-Saharan Africa have increased at a
faster pace than other food crops
• Sweetpotato is also considered a low labour, low cost and low risk
crop which helps families struggling with illness, increasing care
requirements and resource losses due to the impacts of HIV/AIDS
• The use of processed sweetpotato products is projected to increased
in Sub-Saharan Africa
MEMORY AIDS Origin and importance of sweetpotato - 2.2
 Production (tonnes)

0
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,500,000
3,000,000

500,000
2,000,000
Angola 1,004,750
Benin 72,986
Burkina Faso 104,693
Burundi 949,255
Cameroon 281,683
Cape Verde 5,351
Chad 87,632
Comoros 6,804
Congo 7,344
Côte d'Ivoire 45,919
DR Congo 250,713
Equatorial Guinea 91,118
Ethiopia 593,169
Gabon 3,313
Ghana 124,049
Guinea 209,861
Kenya 837,075
Liberia 20,654
Madagascar 896,675
Malawi * 1,941,072
Mali 216,162
Mauritania 1,995
Mauritius 983
Mozambique 893,619
Niger 46,870
Nigeria 2,725,107
Réunion 945
Rwanda 829,466
Senegal 56,867
Sierra Leone 36,332
Somalia 7,938
South Africa 61,526
Swaziland 2,435
Togo 4,494
across Sub-Saharan Africa from 2009-2011

Uganda 2,719,333
Overview of annual sweetpotato production

Tanzania 2,471,630
2.3

Zambia 229,976
Zimbabwe 2,006
 Overview of annual sweetpotato production
across Sub-Saharan Africa from 2009-2011

Sweetpotato production figures

2,719,333
2,725,107
3,000,000

2,471,630
2,500,000

1,941,072
2,000,000

Production (tonnes)
from across Africa
1,500,000

1,004,750

949,255

896,675

893,619
837,075

829,466
1,000,000

593,169
281,683

250,713

229,976
216,162
209,861
124,049
500,000

104,693

91,118
87,632
72,986

61,526
56,867
46,870
45,919

36,332
20,654

7,938
7,344
6,804
5,351

4,494
3,313

2,435
1,995

2,006
983

945
0

Cape Verde

Comoros

Zambia
Angola

Burkina Faso

DR Congo

Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mozambique
Niger

Réunion
Madagascar

Rwanda

Sierra Leone
Somalia

Swaziland
Benin

Burundi
Cameroon

Congo

Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Ghana

Nigeria

Senegal

Togo

Tanzania
Uganda
Chad

Côte d'Ivoire

Guinea
Kenya
Liberia

Malawi *

South Africa

Zimbabwe
2.3

• In 2011, about 8 million hectares of the world’s agricultural land were used
to grow sweetpotato
• Over 95% of the world’s sweetpotato output was from developing countries

Question: Which country in the world do you think produces the most
sweetpotato? Which countries in Africa produce the most sweetpotato?

• China is the country producing the most sweetpotato, more than 75 million
tonnes of sweetpotato each year
• In this graph you can see how much sweetpotato African countries produce
• In Africa, sweetpotato is particularly important in:
– countries surrounding the Great Lakes in East and Central Africa; and
– Malawi, Angola, Mozambique, and Madagascar in Southern Africa; and
– and Nigeria in West Africa

MEMORY AIDS Origin and importance of sweetpotato - 2.3

2.4
 Challenges faced in
sweetpotato production
2.4

• There are real opportunities to boost the productivity and

utilisation of sweetpotato in Sub-Saharan Africa
• This would directly benefit the poor through improving their
incomes and nutritional status
• However enhancing the production and utilization is not
without challenges, including:
1. Lack of access to virus- and pest-free “clean” planting material
2. Lack of improved varieties adapted to local environments that
meet consumer preferences
3. Damage due to sweetpotato weevils, particularly in drier
production zones
4. Insufficient knowledge and poor agronomic practices
5. Poor development of products and potential markets
MEMORY AIDS Origin and importance of sweetpotato - 2.4
3.1
 Natural diversity of sweetpotato

• There are thousands of different varieties of sweetpotato

• Question: How do sweetpotato varieties differ from each other?
- They can differ in: leaf shape and colour, growth habit, root shape, root skin
colour, flesh colour, taste, texture, dry matter content, resistance to pests
and diseases and yield

• Question: What flesh colours of sweetpotato roots have you seen?

- There are a very wide range of flesh colours: from white, through yellow, to
deep orange and dark purple
- These are natural flesh colours and are NOT due to genetic engineering

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato varietal selection and characteristics - 3.1

 3.2
3.2
 How do varieties of sweetpotato
differ from each other
• Characteristics that farmers search for in new sweetpotato varieties include:
– higher yield potential
– good root characteristics (determined by shape, size, flesh colour, dry matter
content, nutritional value etc.)
– resistance to major diseases and pests
– drought and cold tolerance
– a dry texture
– a higher market price
– ability to produce enough planting material
– long in-ground storability, and
– a shorter period to harvest (early maturity, about 3-4 months after planting)
• Each variety performs differently in different situations, depending on location
specific (e.g. soil type and fertility, altitude) and seasonal climatic conditions
• It is therefore important that varieties are tested by and with farmers under
different agro-ecological zones and farmer management, so that farmers can
select those most likely to perform well in their specific locations
MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato varietal selection and characteristics - 3.2
3.33.3
 How to access and test different
varieties of sweetpotato

• Farmers can access new varieties to test in their own fields

from: neighbours, extension, NGOs, traders, research stations,
and farmer vine multipliers
• Farmers can set up small trials to compare the performance of
new varieties with their existing varieties
Questions:
• How many of you have compared different varieties before?
• Where did you get the new varieties you tested from?
• What differences between the varieties did you find?

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato varietal selection and characteristics - 3.3

4.1
 Good nutrition and a healthy
balanced diet
• For a healthy body we need to eat a mixture of foods in appropriate quantities,
qualities and combinations
• We need foods that give us energy, foods that promote growth and the repair of
tissues, foods that store energy and foods that help protect us from illness
• Foods are typically categorised into the following groups and we need to ensure we
eat a mixture of them:
– Carbohydrates (energy giving) – e.g. sweetpotato, cassava, maize, millet, plantain
– Proteins (body building) – e.g. fish, beef, chicken, beans, cowpeas, milk, beef
– Fats (energy storage, insulation) – e.g. groundnuts, cooking oils, avocado
– Vitamins and minerals (support and protect body development and functioning)
– e.g. mango, orange-fleshed sweetpotato, pawpaw, bananas, wild fruits,
Amaranthus, tomatoes, pumpkins, cabbage, egg plants
• In addition we also need to eat fibre which helps food move through our digestive
system, and water which is needed for the many chemical reactions in our body
MEMORY AIDS Nutrition and orange-fleshed sweetpotato - 4.1
Prevalence of stunting
(low height-for-age) 4.2
 Prevalence of stunting
(low height-for-age)
Prevalence of stunting
(low height-for-age) 4.2

In Africa, 59 million children under age 5 are STUNTED (low height-for-age)

Africa is the only region where the number of stunted children has risen
since 2000

Additionally, 14 million children under 5 in Africa, are

WASTED (low weight-for-height)

And 10 million children under 5 in Africa, are OVERWEIGHT

(high weight-for-height) – and this problem is increasing
rapidly

MEMORY AIDS Nutrition and orange-fleshed sweetpotato - 4.2

Corneal clouding due to VAD

4.3
Bitot’s spot due to VAD
 Why the focus on Vitamin A?
Corneal clouding due to VAD

4.3
Bitot’s spot due to VAD

• Deficiencies in micronutrients can have serious consequences, e.g.

– iron deficiency affects intellectual development,
– iodine deficiency causes brain damage,
– vitamin A deficiency (VAD) causes blindness and weakened immunity
• 32% of children under 5 years old in Africa is estimated to be vitamin
A deficient
• Vitamin A deficiency is most common among young children and
pregnant or lactating women
• Vitamin A is essential for good vision, healthy skin, good bone
growth, reproduction, resisting infections and maintaining healthy
surface linings of the eyes, respiratory, urinary and intestinal tracts.
• Note: eye problems only develop when vitamin A deficiency reaches
very severe levels, e.g. nightblindness, corneal clouding, bitot’s spots

MEMORY AIDS Nutrition and orange-fleshed sweetpotato - 4.3

One medium-sized boiled OFSP root (~150 g)
or a handful of pieces can meet a child’s
daily vitamin A needs

4.3
4.4
 One medium-sized boiled OFSP root (~150 g)
or a handful of pieces can meet a child’s

Nutritional value of OFSP roots

daily vitamin A needs

and leaves 4.3

4.4

• OFSP have a high beta-carotene content, the body converts this into vitamin A
• OFSP roots can be included in diets to reduce or eliminate vitamin A deficiency
• The stronger the orange colour the more beta-carotene there is in the root
• Deep green vegetable leaves also have higher concentrations of vitamin A

• One medium-sized boiled OFSP root (~150g) per day can supply the recommended daily
amount of vitamin A for young children
• Most adult’s vitamin A needs can be met by consuming 200-300 g of OFSP per day
• If you eat a lot of OFSP you can build up vitamin A reserves to take you through times
where access to vitamin A rich foods is limited
• Take some fat/oil with OFSP to help the body utilise the vitamin A

• Vitamin A is also found in pumpkin, pawpaw, mangoes, carrots, avocado, red pepper; and
also in fish, liver, milk, eggs, fish oils

MEMORY AIDS Nutrition and orange-fleshed sweetpotato - 4.4

4.5
 Creating demand for OFSP
4.5

• Micronutrient malnutrition is called hidden hunger as its difficult to detect

• As a result people do not know they have a problem and consequently do not
demand a solution
• Projects promoting OFSP to address vitamin A deficiencies need a demand
creation component, to create awareness of the importance of vitamin A and
to help bring about behavioural change
• To develop appropriate messages and approaches, it is necessary to first
understand existing food and marketing customs
• Then a mix of communication programmes that target different audiences can
be developed
• Examples of awareness creation include:
– market stalls painted orange and decorated with key messages, community theatre
performances, radio programmes, trader training
• Examples of behavioural change activities include:
– training sessions, cooking demonstrations, counselling sessions with mothers of
malnourished child, demo plots, subsidised access to OFSP planting materials or
products
MEMORY AIDS Nutrition and orange-fleshed sweetpotato - 4.5
 Vine cutting
5 nodes
(~25-30 cm) long

5.1
 Identifying healthy planting
materials

• Planting materials must be clean and vigorous if they are to produce a

crop with a high root yield
• Virus infection reduces the root yield by 30-90%! If we don’t rogue out
diseased plants immediately we are allowing the virus to spread and
reduce yields
• We can visually select healthy plants without virus symptoms to take
cuttings from
• Cut planting materials from the top 2/3 of the vine to avoid weevil infested
vines
• Cuttings for root production should be 5 nodes (25-30cm) long, but
cuttings for rapid multiplication technique (RMT) should be 3 nodes (10-
20cm) long
• Always leave 15 cm of the plant remaining above soil level, to avoid using
the part of the vine which may contain insect eggs

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato seed systems - 5.1

5.2
 Rapid multiplication of vine
planting materials
• Select a site with fertile soil, and close to a water source
• Prepare a nursery bed (1m wide by ~5m long) with loose soil and farm yard
manure or NPK 25:5:5 fertilizer (0.5 kg per bed)
• Plant healthy, 3-node-long cuttings (note: longer cuttings survive better), at a
spacing of 10cm*20cm (plant 250 cuttings in a 1m x 5m bed), water them lightly
morning and evening.
• If very hot, use a small grass structure to partially shade the nursery bed and
protect it from moisture loss. Do NOT keep nursery bed in heavy shade or vines will
become pale and elongated.
• Protect nursery bed from livestock damage by fencing it
• Remove any weeds by hand, and check regularly and pull out any diseased plants
• After 6-8 weeks vines will be ready to harvest. Starting at the vine tip, cut 5 node
long portions for use as planting materials, leave the base of the vine as it may
have weevils eggs in it
• Harvested vines can stay a maximum of 3 days before planting if kept in the cool,
shade
• Another set of cuttings can be taken a few weeks later
MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato seed systems - 5.2
5.3
 Temporary storage of
planting material
5.3

• Sweetpotato planting materials should be planted as soon as

possible after cutting them
• Vine cuttings can be kept in the shade, but only for a maximum of
2-3 days under good management
• Remove most of the leaves on the cuttings leaving just a few at the
tips
• Then tie the cuttings in a bundle with their bases covered with a
wet cloth or sack
• The bundles should then be kept in a cool, moist and shady place
• Alternatively, the cuttings can be partially buried in a narrow trench
under the shade of a tree with the vines spread out along the
trench, with two-thirds of the vines under the soil surface
MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato seed systems - 5.3
5.4
 Dry season preservation of
vine planting materials

• Sweetpotato planting materials can easily be lost during the long hot dry
season, and then there will not be enough vines to plant when the rains come
• During the dry season, planting materials can be kept/ preserved:
– in swampy areas
– near a well or water point to ease watering of the plot
– in a shady space in the backyard or under banana plants, or
– in a small dry season preservation plot
• Your planting material preservation plot should:
– be protected from grazing livestock (as the vines look nice and green in the dry
season)
– not be close to any old sweetpotato fields, as pests and diseases may spread from
old fields
– somewhere you can visit and water easily
• Only use clean healthy planting materials to plant your dry season plot
• If you want to multiply a lot of vines, you will need to have good access to water

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato seed systems - 5.4

5.5
 Dry season preservation of
roots to produce planting
materials (Triple S system)
• The Triple S system is another way to preserve sweetpotato
planting materials during the dry season
• In the Triple S system you Store sweetpotato roots in Sand and then plant them out
before the rains, and water them so they Sprout and produce planting materials in
time for the start of the rains
• To set up a Triple S system, you need an old basin, some coarse sand, a newspaper,
about 40 medium-sized undamaged roots chosen from roots you harvested from
healthy plants
• Carefully make alternating layers of cool sand and roots in the basin, ending with a
10cm layer of sand on top
• Place the container somewhere dry, cool and safe, away from chickens and children
• 6-8 weeks before on-set of the rains, uncover the now sprouting roots and plant them
in a nursery bed at a spacing of 60*60cm and a depth of 10 cm below soil surface
•Water them every 3-4 days and within a few weeks 40 roots can produce 2,000
cuttings in time for the start of the rains
MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato seed systems - 5.5
5.6
 Pest control during vine
production

• Vine multiplication sites should be carefully

monitored for pests
• If pest outbreaks become severe (e.g. caterpillars or
millipedes) see the extension officer for appropriate
pest management recommendations
• Fence plots to keep livestock from eating planting
materials

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato seed systems - 5.6

6.1
 Planning

• Create a calendar to identify when you would

like to plant your sweetpotato
• Then you can use it to determine when to
start your rapid multiplication of planting
material so the vines will be ready for your
planting date

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato production and management - 6.1

6.2
 Land selection and
preparation

• Avoid planting a new sweetpotato crop next to

an old sweetpotato crop
• Rotate crops, and do not use sweetpotato to
follow a previous root crop, plant it after
cereals or legumes
• Use of mounds or ridges ensures sweetpotato
roots have a depth of loose well drained soil
to develop in

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato production and management - 6.2

6.3
 Planting methods

• Use of mounds or ridges ensures sweetpotato roots have a depth of

loose well drained soil to develop in
• Ridges can be made using an ox-plough
• Plant 1 cutting (of 3 nodes long for vine multiplication, or 5 nodes long
for root production) per hole, and then gap fill any losses.
• Spacing: on ridges, plant every 25-30 cm, on mounds plant 3 cuttings
• The closer the spacing the smaller the sweetpotato roots that develop
• Staggering the planting dates can help spread risk and prolong harvest
and ensure a smoother supply of roots
• Intercropping of sweetpotato is sometimes done with legumes or
maize or agro-forestry trees, especially in areas of high land pressure
or labour shortages

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato production and management - 6.3

 Sweetpotato
0 weeks
development

6 weeks

12 -20 weeks

6.4
 Sweetpotato management
tasks

• 0 to 4 weeks after planting = Establishment phase

• 4 to 8 weeks after planting = Storage root initiation:
Gap filling then weeding is required until the canopy
closes over
• From 6 weeks after planting onwards = Storage root
bulking: Vine lifting and hilling up are required before
harvesting

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato production and management - 6.4

Symptoms of Potassium (K) deficiency in sweetpotato

Plants which received Small necrotic lesions Spread of chlorosis and Yellowing appears on the oldest leaves
100%, 14% and 1.7% of following inter-veinal necrosis on older leaves
optimum potassium chlorosis on a mature leaf
supply Symptoms of Nitrogen (N) deficiency in sweetpotato

Healthy (L) and nitrogen Nitrogen deficient crop Red pigmentation of veins A nitrogen deficient plot (front)
exhibiting limp yellow on lower surface of compared with a plot fertilized with
deficient(R) plants
older leaves younger leaves nitrogen (back) 6.5
 Nutrient needs

• All crops absorb nutrients from the soil, and by harvesting the
crop the nutrients are removed and therefore have to be
replenished if the soil is not to be depleted
• Potassium (K) is the most important nutrient for sweetpotato,
and can be found in ash, so adding fire ash to the soil can help
prevent potassium deficiency
• If nitrogen (N) is present in too high a concentration, it can
result in excessive vine growth and very small roots
• Addition of organic manure can help avoid nutrient
deficiencies
• Symptoms of specific nutrient deficiencies can often be
determined from the leaves
MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato production and management - 6.5
 Insect lifecycles

Complete metamorphosis

Incomplete metamorphosis
7.1
 Insect lifecycles

• The immature forms of an insect can look very different from the adult form
• The process of transformation of an insect from one stage of its lifecycle to
the next is called metamorphosis
• Some insects (such as beetles and moths) undergo complete metamorphosis
(when each stage of the lifecycle appears quite different from the others). For
example: egg > larva > pupa > adult
• Other insects (such as grasshoppers, sucking bugs, aphids and whitefly)
undergo incomplete (or gradual) metamorphosis where the differences
between each lifecycle stage are more subtle. For example: egg > nymph >
adult
• The time it takes for an insect to go from egg to adult can be affected by
temperature, and the type of food it is eating
• However, the sweetpotato weevil can develop from egg to adult in 1 month.
So 1 mated female sweetpotato weevil can result in 125,000 female
sweetpotato weevils within 4 months
MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato pest and disease management - 7.1
Whiteflies and Whiteflies and aphids
aphids pick up transfer virus from
virus particles diseased to healthy
by feeding on sweetpotato plants
an infected
sweetpotato
plant

The
Virus infected
lifecycle
sweetpotato plant
of a virus Healthy sweetpotato plant

The virus then multiplies and spreads

through the plant causing disease
symptoms

7.2
 Life cycle of plant diseases

• A plant disease starts from a previous infection of the same disease. This
is why it is so important that you do not use disease infected planting
materials
• Fungal and bacterial disease can spread by:
– spores from diseased crops being blown about in the wind
– spores splashed up by heavy rain from leaf litter
– using diseased planting materials.
• Sweetpotato viruses are spread by plant-sucking insects such as whitefly,
or aphids which carry the virus from one plant to another
• Once the plant is infected by a virus, the virus then multiplies and spread
throughout the plant, so if you then use any part of that infected plant
as planting material, you will spread the virus to your new crop

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato pest and disease management - 7.2

 Life cycle of the sweetpotato weevil, Cylas spp.

Pupae (3-28 days) –

found inside the Adult weevils –
larval tunnels in the commonly found foraging
roots and stem on foliage and soil

Eggs (3-7 days) –

oviposited in
exposed roots
and stems

Larvae (11-33 days) –

feed and develop in the
feeding tunnels they form
inside the roots and stem 7.3
 Sweetpotato weevil and its
management

• The adult sweetpotato weevil is a small black beetle, that looks rather like a large ant
• After mating, the female sweetpotato chews a small hole in either the vine or an exposed
root and lays an egg in it. She can lay 50-250 eggs in total
• A larva hatches from each egg, and starts feeding in the vine or root which results in
feeding tunnels. The larva then pupates before emerging as an adult beetle
• Effective sweetpotato weevil management practices are:
– Hilling up: weevils do not dig, so if soil can be pushed up so that none of the roots are
exposed and the plant stem is well covered then weevils cannot access the roots and
lay eggs and cause damage
– Field sanitation: removing all old vine and roots which could be infested before
planting a new crop
– Using clean planting materials: eggs of weevils are hard to see and may hide inside
the lower parts of vines, always use the apical portion of vines as planting materials
– Timely harvesting: Plant your sweetpotato crop early so that you can harvest it before
the soil gets dry and cracks and the weevils then attack your roots
– Crop rotation: Rotate sweetpotato with other crops (cereals or legumes) so that high
populations of sweetpotato pests and diseases do not build up in one area of your
field
MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato pest and disease management - 7.3
 7.4
Sweetpotato virus disease (SPVD) affected plant (bottom left)
 Sweetpotato virus disease
and its management

Common symptoms of virus infection in plants, including sweetpotato, are:

– diminished growth/ stunting which causes the plant and leaves to remain small
– chlorosis (paleness) of the leaf tissue, making the plants ‘stand out’ from the rest of the
plants. This can be general or in a pattern, often either between the lead veins in a mosaic or
less well defined mottle, or along the veins to form a chlorotic network.
– mis-shapen leaves with an uneven or curled appearance
– pigmented leaves, often purple or yellow generally or in spots or rings
– reduced production of sweetpotato storage roots

In order to reduce the chances of your crop getting infected with virus disease:
1. Always use planting materials cut from healthy plants
2. Remove (rogue) any diseased plants as soon as they appear in young crops, and
burn or feed them to livestock
3. Plant sweetpotato varieties that are resistant to the disease
4. Do not plant your new sweetpotato crop in the same place where you grew
sweetpotato last season
5. Plant your new sweetpotato crop away from old sweetpotato crops
MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato pest and disease management - 7.4
 Mole rat
management

7.5
 Mole rat management

• Mole rats, rats, porcupines, goats, cattle, guinea fowl, monkeys,

baboons, elephants are also important pests of sweetpotato
• Mole rat damage can be reduced by:
– Destroying their burrows
– Digging a deep ditch around the perimeter of the field to prevent
their tunnels from going straight into the fields
– Putting repellant materials into the rodent’s burrows
– Setting traps in locations where children will not get hurt
– Pouring hot water down their burrows
– Poisoning them. But remember mole rats are mammals and any
poison that is toxic to them will also be toxic to humans and
livestock. Take care to make sure that children and livestock can not
eat the poisons

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato pest and disease management - 7.5

 Erinose

The shoot on the right shows typical erinose symptoms (white hairs and stem
thickening). The shoot on the left if unaffected and of the same variety
7.6
 Erinose

• Erinose, a condition where sweetpotato leaves and vines become

covered with a dense almost felt-like layer of white hairs, is caused by
infestation by Eriophyid mites, and can occasionally be a problem
• Occasionally, whole crops are affected but often the symptoms affect
just one or a patch of plants, and often particular varieties
• The adult mites are tiny and look like a speck of dust. The mites invade
crops by being blown like dust particles in the wind
• A farmer has recommended that sweetpotato fields are scouted
regularly looking for hairy shoot tips. Removing and destroying the
hairy vine tips allows for rapid re-growth
• If the infestation recurs, pruning can be combined with a selective
foliar fertiliser and miticide (mitigan/ dicofol)

MEMORY AIDS Sweetpotato pest and disease management - 7.6

8.1
 Harvest period of sweetpotato

• The harvest period for sweetpotato can be extended through use of

piecemeal harvesting, staggered planting dates, or use of different
varieties with different maturity times
• Sweetpotato roots are typically ready for harvesting from 3 to 8
months after planting depending on the variety
• If harvested too early, storage roots will not have reached their
maximum size
• If harvested too late, storage roots may have become fibrous and
attacked by weevils while in the ground, particularly if the soil dries
out and cracks providing easy entry places for weevils
• Harvest with care, avoid cutting or damaging the roots. This will
prolong shelf-life

MEMORY AIDS Harvesting and postharvest management - 8.1

Poor packing

Good packing
✓ ✓ ✓

8.2
8.2
 Packing, transporting and
curing sweetpotato

• Care should be taken not to overfill sacks with sweetpotato or they

will get damaged and then rot more quickly. The sacks being used in
the photo are overfilled and too big, they will end up being dropped
which then bruises the roots and reduces their shelf-life
• Ideally, farmers should carefully pack their harvested sweetpotato
roots into plastic or wooden crates or cardboard boxes to help
reduce damage during transport. These containers should not be
overfilled
• Harvested roots should be kept in the shade as much as possible
• Curing is a process commonly used to heal wounds in roots, protect
them against disease, reduce shrinkage and extend the storage
period. By removing the foliage of sweetpotato plants about 14
days before harvesting the roots, the post-harvest root losses can
be significantly reduced
MEMORY AIDS Harvesting and postharvest management - 8.2
Storage of fresh sweetpotato roots
PIT store CLAMP store
for fresh sweetpotato roots for fresh sweetpotato roots

Zero Energy Cool Chamber

for fresh sweetpotato roots
PIT store

8.3
 Storage of fresh sweetpotato
roots

•Fresh sweetpotato roots can fetch high prices outside the normal harvest season
•Therefore, farmers can try and store fresh roots to maximize their income and to
consume fresh roots for a longer period of the year
• Pit and clamp stores can be used to store fresh roots for up to 4 months
• Only undamaged roots can be stored
• A pit store consists of a hole dug in a dry place, then lined with dry grass, loaded with
undamaged sweetpotato roots, covered with dry grass and then a thick layer of soil,
add a bamboo pipe to provide ventilation. Then erect a thatched roof over the store
area to protect from sun and rain
• The pit store must be carefully monitored every 1-2 weeks
• Zero energy cool chambers are being promoted in India for storing fresh produce, and
may be suitable for use in Sub-Saharan Africa too. They can be built out of locally
available materials such as brick, sand, bamboo, straw and sacks. They depend on
cooling by evaporation and do not require electricity. The chamber is typically 10-15°C
cooler than the outside temperature
MEMORY AIDS Harvesting and postharvest management - 8.3
8.4
 Storage of dried sweetpotato
root pieces

• Dry sweetpotato root pieces are stored as a traditional

food security stock in many areas of Sub-Saharan Africa
• The fresh roots are typically peeled and sliced, soaked
in water and then sun-dried
• The dried root pieces can then be used in stews or
milled into flour for use in other recipes
• The dried root pieces can be stored in sacks or
granaries, and must be protected from rodent and
storage insect pest attack

MEMORY AIDS Harvesting and postharvest management - 8.4

9.1
 Processing of orange-fleshed
sweetpotato
9.1

• Traditional methods of preparing sweetpotato for consumption include

boiling, steaming, roasting and drying
• Three primary OFSP products can be used as ingredients for a diverse
range of recipes:
– Grated raw OFSP
– OFSP puree (boiled and mashed)
– OFSP flour (chipping, drying, storing, milling)
• Chipping does not affect the beta-carotene content much
• Over-drying (>3 days) reduces the beta-carotene content
• But it is during storage that the beta-carotene content of OFSP chips most
reduces. Try not to store dried OFSP for longer than 1 month

MEMORY AIDS Processing and Utilisation - 9.1

9.2
 Puree versus flour

• Puree is easier to prepare than flour

• Dried sweetpotato or flour can be transported/
stored more easily than puree
• There are pros and cons for the use of these two
products:
– Puree is much cheaper to use as an ingredient in
bakery products than flour
– Flour is much easier to transport and store than puree

MEMORY AIDS Processing and Utilisation - 9.2

9.3
 Orange-fleshed sweetpotato
recipes

A wide range of recipes can be made using sweetpotato

• Porridge
• Mandazi
• Chapatti
• Golden bread
• Juice
• Boiled sweetpotato
• Relish
• Steamed sweetpotato
• Cake
MEMORY AIDS Processing and Utilisation - 9.3
Sweetpotato biscuits and mandazi being produced in a factory in Rwanda

Chinese sweetpotato food products include: noodles, breakfast cereals,

dumplings, crackers, candy, crisps
9.4
 Large-scale commercial
processing of sweetpotato

• Do your research to decide when it makes sense to

produce a processed sweetpotato product
• In Rwanda, the sweetpotato Superfoods project is
working with large-scale processors to produce
orange-fleshed sweetpotato biscuits and mandazi,
and attractive product packaging
• China produces a wide range of commercial
sweetpotato products

MEMORY AIDS Processing and Utilisation - 9.4

9.5
 Sweetpotato as animal feed

• Sweetpotato vines are a good high protein, medium energy

animal feed for dairy cattle, goats, pigs and chickens
• Sweetpotato vines or vines and small roots can be made
into silage
• Sweetpotato roots contain trypsin inhibitors, so raw roots
are not a good animal feed, but by cooking, drying or
ensiling the roots the trypsin inhibitors can be destroyed
and then the roots can be used as animal feed
• China is the world’s largest producer of sweetpotato, 70%
of it is used as animal feed! Particularly for feeding pigs

MEMORY AIDS Processing and Utilisation - 9.5

Make sure your business is market orientated and
meeting consumers’ needs and wants 10.1
 Marketing

• Marketing is about meeting the needs and wants of customers

• It is about understanding customers and finding ways to provide products
or services which customers demand
• Managing a market-orientated business consists of five key tasks:
– Identifying target markets – which customers does your business want to trade with
– Market research - collect information on the current and potential needs of customers in
your target markets, including how customers buy and what competitors are offering
– Product development – develop products which meet needs and wants sufficiently to
attract target customers to buy
– Marketing mix/ 5P’s – after identifying the target markets, and developing the relevant
products and developing relationships along the value chain; the price, promotion and
distribution methods must be determined. To offer value to the customer, to
communicate the offer and to make it accessible and convenient
– Market monitoring – in addition to attracting customers your business needs to retain
them. To do this and to develop new products obtain customer feedback over time, and
to recognise that the competitive environment can change very rapidly
MEMORY AIDS Marketing and entrepreneurship- 10.1
10.2
 The 5 Pillars of Marketing

• Product – what to sell?

• Price – how much to sell at?
• Place – where to sell?
• Promotion – how to draw attention or create
interest in the product and build demand for it?
• People – who are the people involved in the
producing, buying and selling of your product?
They are your market value chain actors.

MEMORY AIDS Marketing and entrepreneurship- 10.2

 •Produces sweetpotato roots (and vines)
•Sell to different value chain actors
depending on location
•Contacts the wholesalers to buy sweetpotato from
the area
•Distributes empty sacks to farmers and pays
harvesters, packers and transporters from farms to
trading centres or main roads
•Assembles sacks from different farms and areas
•Makes payments to farmers

Value chain
Wholesaler
•Brings the money for buying sweetpotato
•Searches for sweetpotato in districts
•Hires truck and organises transportation to town
•Distributes sweetpotato to retailers in different markets
•Pays market fees for off-loaded sweetpotato
Transporter
•Brings/ owns trucks or bicycle, usually works with wholesaler or
broker

•Unpacks the sacks into heaps

•Takes sweetpotato close to consumers in
different locations like small kiosks in
trading centres

10.3
•Buys sweetpotato for home consumption,
or sale as chips
 The Sweetpotato Market
Value Chain

• The sweetpotato farm-to-market value chain is the chain

of connections that sweetpotato roots move along from
the point of production to the point of consumption,
from the farmers to the consumers
• Value chain actors: farmers/ producers, agricultural
service providers, traders, processors/ millers,
transporters and consumers
• The actors in the value chain need to work together to
survive in business, they each have an important role to
play and are interdependent
• Analysing your value chain can identify the weak links in
the chain, and opportunities for strengthening them
MEMORY AIDS Marketing and entrepreneurship- 10.3
10.4
 Group Marketing

Farmers might market sweetpotato in a group in order to:

• Supply a larger volume to the trader
• Supply sweetpotato consistently
• Gain a better bargaining position
• Build a good relationship with traders
• Improve the quality of their products
• Take advantage of extension services that typically work
only with groups

MEMORY AIDS Marketing and entrepreneurship - 10.4

 Calculating Sweetpotato
Costs of Production and Returns

10.5
 Calculating Sweetpotato
Costs of Production and
Returns
Farmers need to calculate:
1. What they pay for inputs (vines, chemicals, sacks, hired labour) for each
sweetpotato production task e.g. clearing, ridging, planting, weeding,
hilling-up, harvesting, packing, carrying).
2. What they pay for transport.
3. What they pay for marketing fees
4. How much they harvested in kgs.
5. How much they sold in kgs, when they sold it, where/to whom they sold
it and the price they sold it for.
6. How much sweetpotato they lost (number of roots or kgs lost at harvest
time or during storage.
7. Gross revenue: (total amount harvested (kgs) minus total amount lost
(kgs)) X average sale price of their sweetpotato.
8. Total revenue minus total cost (on a per ha basis).
9. Compared the returns to sweetpotato with those for other crops.

MEMORY AIDS Marketing and entrepreneurship - 10.5

11.1
11.1
 Gender roles in sweetpotato
production, processing and
marketing

• Gender roles and responsibilities change over time and differ

by place
• Sweetpotato is perceived as a women’s crop in many
communities
• In many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa women take
responsibility for preparing the land including making ridges
or mounds, sourcing planting materials, planting, weeding,
harvesting, processing, storing, cooking and marketing small
quantities of sweetpotato. Men help during land preparation
• Where sweetpotato is traditionally grown by women, when
sweetpotato production becomes commercial men tend to
get more involved

MEMORY AIDS Gender and Diversity Aspects- 11.1

11.2
 Why are gender and diversity
issues are important in
agriculture and sweetpotato
enterprise?
• Women farmers produce more than 50% of all food grown in the world. In many parts
of Sub-Saharan Africa, women make up 50% of the agricultural labour force
• Yet women everywhere face more severe constraints than men in accessing productive
resources, markets and services
• It is estimated that if women had equal access to productive resources, yields on their
farms would increase by 20 to 30%. This could raise total agricultural output in
developing countries by 2.5%, which could reduce the number of hungry people in the
world by 12 to 17%
• Women are not only farmers, but processors, income earners, care providers and
nutrition decision-makers
• By meeting the practical needs of women in carrying out their multiple responsibilities,
improving their control over agricultural produce and increasing their decision-making
power in the home where food is distributed and consumed, development efforts
benefit not only women, but all household members and society in general

MEMORY AIDS Gender and Diversity Aspects- 11.2

Take time to understand the existing gender roles and responsibilities
along the sweetpotato value chain in your focal location
11.3
 How to best incorporate
gender in sweetpotato
projects
• At the start of any sweetpotato project, it is important to understand gender
roles and responsibilities in production, marketing and processing, who is
responsible for taking care of the household and making decisions about child
and household feeding
• Include women in all project activities and make arrangements to provide
them with resources that they may not have access to such as land, water,
literacy
• Think of strategies that will help both women and men produce sweetpotato
commercially
• Develop approaches that can help husbands and wives ensure that sufficient
quantities of OFSP are set aside for household use and to use OFSP income is
used to benefit all household members
• When planning communication strategies, take into account differences
between men and women in terms of availability and timing of free time,
mobility (e.g. ability to travel), literacy and access to information channels such
as radio and television
MEMORY AIDS Gender and Diversity Aspects- 11.3