Introduction
Sweet potato are considered to be underground tuber vegetables. Just one sweet potato gives you 400% of the vitamin A you need each day. This helps keep your eyes healthy as well as your immune system, your body’s defense against germs. It’s also good for your reproductive system and organs like your heart and kidneys.
Uses
Sweet potato is a key ingredient in making:
- Chips
- Cream and soap
- Poultry feeds
Production, export, import and consumption in Nigeria
Production =3,867,871, Export =1170 , Import =0 .(Source: FAOSTAT)
Growing Sweet potato
It requires a soil that is sandy loam; a soil a little bit high in organic matter but that has sand. Because it is a tuber crop, it requires a soil where the tuber can easily grow very well in the soil.
Duration and Season
Most Sweet Potato cultivation is done in the rainy season. However, irrigation farming is yet another option to consider. After planting, you will have to wait 3 to 4 months before it reaches maturity. Sweet potato can grow both in the temperate and tropical regions.
Sowing and harvest period
Planting is between March-April during early rains but can also be planted with irrigation during dry season October November and late rains August-September. As of today, there is no single sweet potato off-taker or industrial processor in Nigeria, making it difficult to up-scale its production. Selling sweet potato should be planned adequately even before production. In the rainy periods covering August to November, most farmers harvest their crops.
Main Producing States in Nigeria.
- Plateau (Largest producer)
- Benue
- Kogi
- Taraba
- Borno
- Zamfara
- Bauchi
- Katsina
- Gombe
- Sokoto
- Jigawa
- Kano
- Kebbi.
Relevant Agencies in Nigeria.
POFAN (Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria).
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