The key to producing sweet potato 365 days per year

Jodian Duncan


Sweet potato is a very diverse crop in terms of its many uses and the different varieties that can be produced.

However, with climate change being a major concern for the large scale production of any crop, the implementation of best farming practices is strongly advised to ensure a constant supply of sweet potato for the market demand.

One of these such practices, is the utilization of a proper irrigation system; which is immensely underestimated.

Taking into consideration that there is less and less rainfall each year, due to the ever changing climatic conditions being experienced, it is of paramount importance that large scale sweet potato producers , do their utmost best in securing access to water as possible to supply their crop.

This is the key to ensuring a year round supply of production for the crop.

The Major Issue…

Farmers usually plant sweet potatoes in the wet seasons to yield production in the dry seasons. But what happens by the time the crop is harvested in the dry seasons?

Exactly! Production becomes stagnant until the next wet season returns.

They refuse to plant the crop in the dry seasons out of fear that there won’t be any sustainable production. Which, let’s be honest, is a smart choice as sweet potato is a crop which requires an adequate amount of water to yield production.

How do fix we this?! 

The irrigation system provides the controlled supply of water to the sweet potato plant when there are frequent periods of inadequate rainfall. This will provide farmers with an unlimited supply of water especially during the dry seasons.

This practice along with other techniques to produce clean planting material will make certain that the sweet potato crop can be produced 365 days per year instead of only after the wet seasons.


