Gender situational analysis of the sweetpotato value chain in selected districts in Sidama and Gedeo Zones in southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Gender situational analysis of the sweetpotato value chain in selected districts in Sidama and Gedeo zones in southern Ethiopia

Nutrient-Dense Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato: Advances in Drought-Tolerance Breeding and Understanding of Management Practices for Sustainable Next-Generation Cropping Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Sweetpotato is grown as a monocrop during the main rainy season commonly in root crop-based systems where it is a staple food and a major source of income. In Ethiopia, sweetpotato is grown as a relay crop with maize planted once the maize has tasseled to ensure establishment of sweetpotato before the main rainy season ends (Mudege et al, 2019). Systems with sweetpotato grown on residual moisture in inland valleys or floodplains following a rice crop during the main rainy season can be found in West Africa, Tanzania and Madagascar (Andrade et al, 2009;Ngailo et al, 2015).…”

“…Available: www.fao.org/3/X6543E/X6543E03.htm. especially dairy cattle (Ewell and Mutuura, 1994;Larbi et al, 2007;Claessens et al, 2008;Mudege et al, 2019).…”

“…Sweetpotato is propagated using both roots and vines, the latter being widely important in Africa (McEwan, 2016). Unlike major cereal crops whose seeds can be safely stored, sweetpotato vine conservation during the dry season is a prevailing challenge causing a low seed security status and possible shift to other crops (Mudege et al, 2019). Sweetpotato vine conservation and multiplication practices are largely influenced by rainfall patterns.…”

“…(Clark et al, 2012;McEwan, 2016). Generally, the lack of access to and availability of quality planting material at the beginning of the rainy season is a prevailing challenge against wider dissemination of improved sweetpotato cultivars across SSA (Gurmu et al, 2015;Mudege et al, 2019). Addressing the seed system challenges requires a closer understanding of and building upon indigenous practices, innovative technologies and working with multi-stakeholder and cross-sectoral approaches (Gurmu et al, 2015;McEwan, 2016;Rajendran et al, 2017).…”

“…Addressing the seed system challenges requires a closer understanding of and building upon indigenous practices, innovative technologies and working with multi-stakeholder and cross-sectoral approaches (Gurmu et al, 2015;McEwan, 2016;Rajendran et al, 2017). The most widely practiced traditional seed conservation and multiplication practices by smallholder farmers in SSA include growing vines using residual moisture and in flood plains, growing vines under perennial crops such as fruits and enset, taking advantage of the shade to prevent vine desiccation (Gurmu et al, 2015;Mudege et al, 2019), and using volunteer roots that remained in the soil during previous harvests and start sprouting at the onset of the rainy season (McEwan, 2016). Recent efforts by CIP in collaboration with African national agricultural research institutes (NARIs) have focused on developing innovative sweetpotato seed system technologies such as Triple S (storage, sand, and sprouting) for root-based vine multiplication, the use of net tunnels to protect foundation material from insect vectors that spread viruses (Figure 4), sandponics for vine multiplication from pathogen-tested plantlets and irrigated vine multiplication linked to established decentralized vine multipliers.…”