International Potato Centre recently unveiled Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato’s potentials, rolling out two varieties of the produce – King J and Mothers Delight.
 
Sweet potato, a staple crop in Sub-Saharan Africa and in some parts of South America and Asia has become one of the most globally consumed crops today. The new technology known as orange–fleshed sweet-potato (OFSP), a veritable source of beta-carotene and vitamin ‘A’ is said to be capable of improving the health of the predominantly malnourished African mothers and children as well as galvanize increase in profit when cultivated. 
 
In the words of the project leader of the initiative, a Kumasi Ghanaian breeder, Professor Ted Carey, the project is targeted at improving the lives of millions of people in Africa. Countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina-Faso and Malawi have all been taking the OFSP advantages comparatively. He said that the CIP Development and Research has succeeded in involving a number of international organizations like IITA and FARA, just as the Nigeria government has also embraced its rainbow project.
 
Recently, at a sweet potato seed system and market linkage in Osogbo, the CIP project manager from Tamale, Ghana; Dr. Erna Abidin said; “Through diversified market, we are commercializing and expanding the OFSP initiative. We have made Africans realize through advocacy and sensitization that OFSP is a food and nutrition security crop and now, households, vine multipliers, researchers, governments and other stakeholders are joining us in repositioning OFSP as a profit generating crop”.
Explaining the nutritional advantages of the OFSP, the country project manager and M&E specialist Dr. Justus Manje said that the sweet potato new hybrid is full of essential vitamins which are in short supply in the daily dietary intakes. “Vitamin A deficiency is rampant in Africa and has contributed to high rates of blindness and diseases in pregnant women and children” he said.
Partnering with the CIP, the National Root Crop Research Institute, Umudike (NRCRI), an institute with the mandate of conducting research on root and tuber crops in Nigeria has said it is still working on how to further improve the nutrient-laced OFSP and then roll out more varieties. The country’s agronomist CIP, Dr. Jude Njoku said that apart from having high yield, it is also disease resistant, adding that the variety was bred via a conventional means.
 
“We just established a root foundation which was flagged off two weeks ago at ARMTI in Ilorin and we have also sensitized multitudes at the IDP camp in Abuja.  I can assure you that after generating our data from the field trials, we shall release more varieties so that our vegetable farmers can reap bountifully from them”.