Potato is an important food and nutritional crop in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is still only limited access to quality seed potato in the region. This is also the case in Cameroon, where national annual production is only 300,000 metric tons – well below the national demand estimates of one million metric tons. Furthermore, with increased production, Cameroonian farmers could profit through export opportunities with neighboring countries, such as Chad, Gabon, and the Central African Republic, among others.
However, access to certified or clean potato seed is extremely low (<5%), which means most farmers recycle old, degenerated seed potato for subsequent crops, producing, on average, between 7-10 tons per hectare (t/ha), which is far below reasonable potential yields of 20-30 t/ha.
However, recent success in Kenya holds great promise for Cameroon and other SSA countries where potato can play a more key role in addressing food and nutrition security concerns.
Working with local Kenyan partners, CIP has helped to build and coordinate production of and access to starter materials to produce certified seed from minitubers. These materials include basic seed and rooted apical cuttings to produce clean seed that brings higher yields and presents attractive income opportunities for smallholder farmers, especially women.
Source: cipotato.org
A source: https://www.freshplaza.com
