News on Health and Nutrition from Africa

Since mid-June, potato prices have been on average 46% higher than in the same period last year. In four months, the average market price of a 10kg
bag has rocketed from below R35 to R83.

A first pilot using True Potato Seed (TPS) in Angonia District, Tete province in Mozambique, conducted by Solidaridad and Solynta shows great potential to drastically improve and innovate potato production in Mozambique.

The government of Zimbabwe, in conjunction with Kutsaga Research Station has embarked on a seed potato multiplication programme from mini-tuber to commercial seed potato.

The Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) has started testing True Potato Seeds, which are produced by Solynta, a Dutch firm that develops hybrid potatoes. True Potato Seeds are collected from the berries or fruits of the potato plant.

During his presentation at the official opening of the 11th African Potato Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, World Potato Congress President Romain Cools announced the continuous effort of his organization to be a partner of the African potato sector.

Potato organizations on Monday called for deliberate efforts to increase potato and sweet potatoes production for sustainable nutritious food systems in Africa.

Potato is important to food security and a cash crop in Ethiopia with high potential to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, who account for 83% of the total population and hold 95% of agricultural land.

Irish potatoes have prevented another major humanitarian food crisis in one of the poorest and most remote parts of Ethiopia, according to aid organization Concern Worldwide.

La inocuidad alimentaria se perfila como un desafío internacional para evitar 420.000 muertes y 600 millones de casos de enfermedades al año en el mundo.

Los agricultores de las regiones productoras de papa en Kenia están aprendiendo a cosechar éxitos gracias a un programa financiado por USAID: Desarrollo Acelerado de la Cadena de Valor para Alimentar el Futuro (AVCD por sus siglas en inglés).

To deal with climate pressures, potato growers in Kenya are turning to contract farming to earn more money and get better seed.

Situated in the Northeast of Tanzania, the district of Lushoto is part of the so called highlands of Tanzania where potatoes are traditionally grown. Due to heat and lack of resilient potato varieties, farmers would often lose all the crop.

Michael Agbogo, co-founder of Vicampro, disclosed that Nigerians consume about 120 tonnes of French fries daily, even as the whole of West Africa region lacks real food processors. According to him, 'Nigeria imports about $200 million worth of French fries annually'...

The administrative authorities of the Condé municipality, in the coastal Cuanza Sul province, are working to acquire potato seeds in order to increase the potato production in the region.

In Uganda, a series of field trials began in 2015 to assess whether twelve highly resistant GM plants of the ‘Desiree’ and local ‘Victoria’ variety provided by the International Potato Center CIP offer a durable resistance to late blight

Nyandarua county in Kenya will benefit from an investment in a potato project that will involve large-scale production, processing and marketing.

Dessie Zuria is one of the most critically food insecure districts in Ethiopia. High altitude forced farmers to grow a single staple – barley. However, the previously unknown potato is helping to transform the lives of thousands of the poorest farmers.

Potatoes supply more calories than grain, many vitamins and minerals and are an important source of income for the growers in the rural areas of West Africa. Therefore the German development assistance initiates production of potatoes in areas of famine.