NGO promotes Potato cultivation in Upper East

Farmers in the Bawku West District were on Thursday encouraged to focus on cultivating the Orange fleshed Sweet Potato which is more nutritious than other food products in the area.

The orange potato has been found to do well in the area and farmers can rely on its good yield to increase their income and food security. It is especially rich in vitamin “A” and can improve the nutritional status of children.

The International Development Enterprise (iDE), a Non-Governmental Organization working to promote quality food production, revealed this at a forum in Zebilla to educate farmers drawn from the Bawku West District, on the nutritional value of potato and the need to focus on its cultivation.

Mr Kodimah Issifu Mahama, the Acting Director of iDE, explained that the project sought to promote production and consumption of the potato as part of efforts to increase food production and security in the Upper East Region using a market driven approach.

Mr Mahama said apart from its nutritional value the Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato was a commercial smallholder agricultural venture with its attendant benefits of reducing poverty and improve livelihoods of people.

He entreated the farmers to take the opportunity to learn and adopt new technologies and strategies to increase productivity.

Mr Yussif Sulemana, the Bawku West District Director of Agriculture, noted that with the awareness creation his outfit and the extension officers would work closely with farmer groups and other developmental partners to ensure the cultivation and consumption of the Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato in the area.

He said statistics by WHO and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in 2008 indicated that about 28 per cent of children under five years were stunted with a higher prevalence of stunting and wasting in the Northern and Upper East Regions.

About 700 farmers are expected to benefit from the initiative in eleven districts of the region before the dry season sets in.

Over 300 farmers had been trained and equipped by the Ministry of Agriculture extension officers.