Last week, during the opening of the 11th Three-Year Conference of the African Potato Association (APA) in Kigali, participants called for increased potato and sweet potato cultivation for sustainable food systems in Africa.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes offer opportunities at the global level, such as improving food quality in many poor countries. According to Oscar Ortiz of the International Potato Center, these products offer opportunities for growing and generating income, and also counteract climate change.
In addition to energy and vitamins, they also provide opportunities for trade and processing, which contribute to the development of entrepreneurship. This is what the World Potato Congress Romain Cools says.
The average potato and sweet potato crop in Rwanda is 10 tons / ha, respectively. and 7 tons / ha. Currently, in large areas of growing potatoes, there are 101 fully working centers for its processing.
The conference was attended by over 200 researchers and development partners from 20 African countries.
WHO reports that the number of undernourished people in Southern Sahara has increased from 181 million in 2010 to 222 million in 2016.
