International Potato Center

Uganda is a secondary centre of diversity of sweetpotato with most farmers maintaining at least four varieties in their fields. However, most of these varieties are landraces, with the uptake of improved sweetpotato varieties being quite low in the country, especially among women. Efforts to decrease the gender technology adoption gap are critical for inclusive impacts of innovations. This study aims to understand gendered drivers of sourcing and use of sweetpotato varieties among smallholder farmers exposed to behavioural interventions in Uganda. Key informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews (SSI) were used to gather baseline information from farmers located in communities that received behavioural interventions. The results indicate that while men sourced seed-vines mainly from purchasing in the market, women farmers did so mainly from social networks including fellow farmers or neighbours. Men had higher tendency to source vines from the market likely because of higher mobility than women. Consumption traits, especially quality characteristics were strongly associated with variety use. Notably, sweet taste played a big role and was linked to preference for Iboi, Ejumula and Kakamega, the leading varieties. This was followed by high root yield. The challenges women face in sweetpotato production included limited labour force and shortage of farm equipment/machinery, lack of timely access to planting material at on-set of rains, and lack of access to affordable/ cost of improved varieties. These findings highlight the importance of paying attention to both quality and agronomic traits, and not only the latter, in variety development. They also suggest the need for implementation of effective promotional strategies including demonstration gardens, technical backstopping to extensionists to equip them, radio talk shows and market linkages.

Background In regions facing chronic stress such as the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya, there is poor quality of diet among women and children in humanitarian situations, mainly due to multiple climatic shocks that exacerbate local food systems. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of household participation in climate smart nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) interventions on maternal and young child nutrition outcomes in Makueni, Garissa and Tana River counties. Methods From March 2020 to October 2023, the International Potato Center and partners (World Food Program, Ministries of Agriculture and Health) implemented an NSA intervention in Makueni, Garissa and Tana River counties. The intervention comprised of household participating in three main activities: (1) access to orange fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) vines; (2) participation in nutrition education activities and (3) receiving and utilizing infant feeding toolkits (Healthy Baby Toolkit/HBT). Approximately 3 months after intervention activities, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in intervention communities to assess effect of particpation in the interventions on maternal and child nutrition outcomes. The study utilized the doubly robust inverse probability weighting regression adjustment (IPWRA) estimator to evaluate the impact of participation in the project intervention on nutrition outcomes. Caregivers’ knowledge of nutrition, health and childcare, women (MDD-W) and young child dietary diversity (MDD-C), vitamin A (VA) intakes, minimum meal frequency (MMF), and minimum acceptable diet (MAD) for children 6–23 months were analyzed. The comparison of means and proportions was assessed using Student’s t-test and the Chi-square test, respectively, between the caregivers participating in NSA interventions and non-participants. The impact of the level of participation in NSA interventions and information on how to utilize these to improve infant and maternal feeding in the household on caregiver knowledge and practices scores was examined using regression analysis. Results Of 494 caregivers surveyed, 72% indicated to have participated in at least one study intervention. In adjusted analyses, participation in at least one of the study interventions was significantly associated with improved caregiver nutrition [β: 0.943, p < 0.05], and VA [0.613, p < 0.05] knowledge scores and young child MMF [0.202, p < 0.05] and MAD [0.111, p < 0.05]. Participation in all three interventions (nutrition training, use of infant feeding toolkit and access to OFSP vines) significantly increased VA knowledge among caregivers (p ≤ 0.05) and infant MMF (p ≤ 0.05). While the use of infant feeding toolkit and access to OFSP vines alone had a significant positive effect on MDD-W and MDD-C (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion The findings show the need to integrate climate-smart NSA interventions in humanitarian settings to improve nutrition among women and young children. Such interventions can potentially build resilience among populations in these fragile environments to better withstand various shocks.

Potato is one of the three most important foods in the world’s diet and is staple in the Peruvian highlands. This crop is affected by late blight, a disease that if not controlled in time can decimate production. The oomycete (Phytophthora infestans) causing this disease is controlled using fungicides, which affect the environment and human health, another form of control is the use of resistant cultivars. 30 potato clones from the LBHTC2 population were evaluated, with the objective of selecting clones with high levels of resistance to this disease, stable for tuber yield, low environmental impact and high economic profitability. The clones were planted in three field experiments in the 2021–2022 growing season. Two experiments with and without late blight chemical control in Oxapampa and Huánuco and one experiment under normal conditions of a potato crop in El Mantaro, Junin, using randomized complete blocks with three replications. The cultivars Yungay, Amarilis and Kory were used as controls for late blight resistance and tuber yield. Late blight resistance and environmental impact were determined based on experiments with and without control in Huánuco and Oxapampa. Yield stability and economic profitability were evaluated based on information from the three experiments. Clones CIP316375.102, CIP316361.187, CIP316367.117, CIP316356.149, CIP316367.147 were the ones that presented the highest yields, high Late blight resistance, phenotypically stable for tuber yield, with low environmental impact and high economic profitability, superior to control cultivars. These clones have high potential for sustainable production systems that allow reducing environmental impact, increasing economic profitability and improving producers’ living standards.

The new potato variety INIA 333–CHUGAYNA, is the result of the joint work of the NGO Asociación Pataz, INIA and the International Potato Center, it was generated through traditional breeding and the use of the participatory varietal selection methodology, as a variety resilient to climate change with frost tolerance, resistance to late blight, compared to the improved variety INIA 302-Amarilis and the native varieties, Huevo de Indio. This new variety is also resilient to climate change, tolerant to frost, with field resistance to late blight, high tuber yield, low glycoalkaloid content and high quality for fresh consumption, adapted up to 4000 m above sea level. It was released in 2023 and officially registered in the national registry of commercial varieties of Peru. The new variety INIA 333-CHUGAYNA requires minimal use of fungicides and has a high economic profitability that will improve the living standards of small and medium-sized farmers in Peru. It can also be used as a parent in breeding programs in other countries in development, to confront climate change, especially frost.

General combining ability (GCA) is the major selection criterion for new sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) parents in a reciprocal recurrent selection (RRS) scheme. Here we aimed to estimate GCA and specific combining ability (SCA) by using 16 potential testers involved in an 8 × 8 partial diallel and propose a procedure to identify testers in sweetpotato breeding. Data on storage root yield in tons per hectare (rytha), and sweetpotato virus disease (vir2) from 64 families (1,913 clones) were collected in five trials at two locations in Uganda. The estimates of the female GCA accounted for the largest additive genetic variation for storage root yield compared to the male GCA for both traits. Mid-parent heterosis ranged from − 6.2 to 7% for rytha, and − 1.1 to 1.3% for vir2 in the progeny families. A stepwise procedure to identify testers top-ranked ‘NASPOT 7’ as a dual tester for both traits. Besides this parent, ‘Ejumula’ and ‘NASPOT 10 O’ for rytha, and ‘NASPOT 1’, ‘NK259L’, ‘SPK004’, and ‘NASPOT 11’ for vir2 are particularly suitable as respective single-trait testers. Testers are important in many plant breeding programs to enhance efficiency of RRS, and thus other crop species might benefit from the strategy and methods applied herein.

The challenges faced by today’s agronomists, plant breeders, and their managers encompass adapting sustainably to climate variability while working with limited budgets. Besides, managers are dealing with a multitude of issues with different organizations working on similar initiatives and projects, leading to a lack of a sustainable impact on smallholder farmers. To transform the current food systems as a more sustainable and resilient model efficient solutions are needed to deliver and convey results. Challenges such as logistics, labour, infrastructure, and equity, must be addressed alongside adapting to increasingly unstable climate conditions which affect the life cycle of transboundary pathogens and pests. In this context, transforming food systems go far beyond just farmers and plant breeders and it requires substantial contributions from industry, global finances, transportation, energy, education, and country developmental sectors including legislators. As a result, a holistic approach is essential for achieving sustainable and resilient food systems to sustain a global population anticipated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. As of 2021, nearly 193 million individuals were affected by food insecurity, 40 million more than in 2020. Meanwhile, the digital world is rapidly advancing with the digital economy estimated at about 20% of the global gross domestic product, suggesting that digital technologies are increasingly accessible even in areas affected by food insecurity. Leveraging these technologies can facilitate the development of climate-smart cultivars that adapt effectively to climate variation, meet consumer preferences, and address human and livestock nutritional needs. Most economically important traits in crops are controlled by multiple loci often with recessive alleles. Considering particularly Africa, this continent has several agro-climatic zones, hence crops need to be adapted to these. Therefore, targeting specific loci using modern tools offers a precise and efficient approach. This review article aims to address how these new technologies can provide a better support to smallholder farmers.

The Inca and their immediate predecessors provide an exceptional model of how to create high-altitude functional environments that sustainably feed people with a diversity of crops, whilst mitigating erosion, protecting forestry and maintaining soil fertility without the need for large-scale burning. A comparison is provided here of landscape practices and impacts prior to and after the Inca, derived from a unique 4200-year sedimentary record recovered from Laguna Marcacocha, a small, environmentally sensitive lake located at the heart of the Inca Empire. By examining ten selected proxies of environmental change, a rare window is opened on the past, helping to reveal how resilient watershed management and sustainable, climate-smart agriculture were achieved. We contend that, in the face of modern environmental uncertainty, a second climate-smart agricultural revolution is necessary, but one that accounts for the significant social capital of highland communities whilst still leaning heavily on native crops, trees and livestock. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-024-02121-5.

Genetic variability plays a pivotal role in enhancing yield-related traits. A diverse genetic pool offers the potential for combining desirable allelic combinations to improve yield and related characteristics. This study analyzed data from 99 genotypes, focusing on various morphological traits. Correlation analysis revealed significant and positive associations among seed yield per plant, hundred fresh seed weight, and hundred dry seed weight. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified the first four principal components (PCs) with eigenvalues exceeding one, accounting for 64.186% of total variability in morphological traits. PC-1 exhibited positive factor loadings for all morphological traits except number of pods per plant, number of branches per plant, number of seeds per pod, and pod length with hundred fresh seed weight, being the highest contributor. Cluster analysis categorized genotypes into three distinct clusters with Cluster-II, displaying the highest hundred fresh seed weight. Using the Ward’s method, greater distance was observed between Cluster-I and Cluster-III, suggesting that crosses between genotypes from these clusters may yield hybrid vigor in breeding programs and contribute to the selection of desirable genotypes.

The maintenance of plant germplasm and its genetic diversity is critical to preserving and making it available for food security, so this invaluable diversity is not permanently lost due to population growth and development, climate change, or changing needs from the growers and/or the marketplace. There are numerous genebanks worldwide that serve to preserve valuable plant germplasm for humankind’s future and to serve as a resource for research, breeding, and training. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) both have a network of plant germplasm collections scattered across varying geographical locations preserving genetic resources for the future. Besides the USDA and CGIAR, there are germplasm collections established in many countries across the world that also aim to preserve crop and plant collections. Due to the advancement of technology, genotyping and sequencing whole genomes of plant germplasm collections is now feasible. Data from genotyping can help define genetic diversity within a collection, identify genetic gaps, reveal genetic redundancies and verify uniqueness, enable the comparison of collections of the same crop across genebanks (rationalization), and determine errors or mix-ups in genetic identity that may have occurred in a germplasm collection. Large-scale projects, such as genotyping germplasm collections, require strategic planning and the development of best practices. This article details strategies and best practices to consider when genotyping whole collections, considerations for the identity verification of germplasm and determining genetic replicates, quality management systems (QMS)/QC genotyping, and some use cases.

Due to rapid population growth, agri-food systems have been under increasing pressure to adapt and innovate to sustainably meet the growing demand for food. This requires advances in agricultural practices, technology and distribution networks. Farmer training has been proven to be a crucial component in this transformative process. Equipping farmers with the necessary knowledge and skills becomes paramount to optimize agricultural productivity while also improving their coping with the effects of climate change. This study applied the difference-in-difference method with inverse probability-weighted regression to analyze the impact of farmer training on potato yield. Results showed that 40% of farmers who received training interventions were members of farmer groups and had more farming experience compared to the control group. Additionally, the annual crop enterprise revenue for training participants was USD 255 compared to USD 134 for the control group. Results also showed that potato farmers who participated in positive selection training reported an increase in yield by 14%. On average, training participants were able to increase their potato yield by 1.33 tons per acre. These findings demonstrate the importance of providing targeted training and specific skills in order to enhance farm output. Furthermore, improving access to credit and supporting effective participation in farmer groups would increase farm yields.

Globally, the intake of fruit and vegetables (F&V) is far below the recommended levels, contributing to various health challenges including micronutrient deficiencies and non‐communicable diseases. In Tanzania, where the triple burden of malnutrition persists, there is a need to identify gaps in evidence, better understand diets and F&V intake and identify promising interventions for improved intake. We conducted a scoping review to summarize the evidence on dietary intake, F&V intake and nutritional status in Tanzania. This included three separate literature searches in PubMed covering the years 2012–2023. A total of 62, 37 and 15 articles met predefined eligibility criteria for the review of overall diet, dietary intake of F&V and nutritional status, respectively. Identified studies suggest that overall dietary practices among all population groups were primarily based on carbohydrate‐rich foods, complementary feeding practices were suboptimal among young children and a low proportion of women of reproductive age (WRA) and pregnant and lactating women achieved minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD‐W). Across all population groups, F&V intake was below the recommended 400 g per day. Analysis of nutritional status in Tanzania in population representative surveys showed high stunting prevalence in children below 5 years of age, and a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among WRA, particularly in urban areas. Additional research is needed to understand better the complex interactions between diet and nutrition and health outcomes, and to identify efficient and cost‐effective strategies to improve overall dietary quality, including increasing F&V intake.

Public breeding programs are pushing to implement demand-led breeding to increase variety adoption, while tackling multiple challenges for increased production under climate change. This has included the improvement of variety target product profiles involving multiple stakeholders. A special case involves the unexpected and rapid spread of the Shangi potato variety in Kenya. This variety was not an especially outstanding variety and the levels of its traits did not exceed the expected thresholds defined in the target product profile for table potato in East Africa. By examining the customer segments looking at gender but also social contexts of smallholder and disadvantaged farmers such as access to markets, inputs, and labor, it became apparent that ready availability of potatoes for consumption, processing, or planting was of prime importance. Given the storage and market constraints, Shangi's very short dormancy, which had been assumed to be a negative trait for farmers, women cottage processors and consumers, was actually meeting the needs for available product and planting material. Consequently, this provided these groups increased control over their productive activities. The case study presented here analyzes different components of potato variety change in Kenya. It explores the challenges and tradeoffs faced by public sector breeding programs and how gender analysis from a broader inclusion perspective can uncover the underlying causes of varietal adoption. Focusing on the Shangi potato variety, the case study reveals a series of lessons learned that have re-shaped the definition of breeding priorities.

Highlights What are the main findings? Foliar Zn applications are highly effective in biofortified potato clones compared with non-biofortified varieties. Foliar Zn applications do not affect the high iron content in potato tubers. What is the implication of the main finding? Biofortification offers a practical and cost-effective approach to addressing global malnutrition. Abstract Given the widespread micronutrient deficiencies in vulnerable populations, crop biofortification has been proposed as a solution to increase nutrient concentrations. This study aimed to determine the effect of combining biofortification strategies on the agronomic characteristics and nutritional composition of potato. The effect of foliar fertilization (FF) with zinc (Zn) on five potato genotypes (G): four biofortified clones developed through conventional breeding with different Zn levels (high, medium, and low in Zn, and one high in Fe and Zn) and a commercial variety (‘Yungay’) were evaluated. At harvest, the number of tubers per plant, the weight of tubers per plant, and the average tuber weight were evaluated as yield components, and tuber samples were collected for micronutrient determination. For yield components, the analysis with linear mixed models showed no significant G × D interaction effects, but highly significant differences were observed among G. The Zn concentration in tubers showed a highly significant effect in the G × D interaction. The simple effects analysis showed that biofortified genotypes responded to FF with Zn by significantly increasing the tuber Zn concentrations by an average of 43% (range 28–61%), despite growing in alkaline soils. In contrast, the ‘Yungay’ variety showed a 6% increase. Clones biofortified through conventional genetic improvement responded better to agronomic FF with Zn compared to the non-biofortified commercial variety, demonstrating that both are synergistic strategies that can achieve a significant increase in Zn concentrations in tubers. The result of this study might be used to further biofortification efforts and decrease nutritional deficiencies.

A crop rotation study was conducted in the Agoro Rice scheme from mid-2015 to 2017 to determine the effect of sweetpotato–rice rotation in the lowlands on financial returns and sweetpotato root, sweetpotato vine, and rice yields compared to monocropping. Treatments included crop rotations of sweetpotato–rice–sweetpotato, rice–sweetpotato–rice, rice–rice–rice (control), and sweetpotato–sweetpotato–sweetpotato (control). The study used the sweetpotato varieties NASPOT 11 (cream-fleshed), NASPOT 10 O, and Ejumula (both orange-fleshed) and the rice varieties Wita 9, Agoro, and Komboka. The results showed that mean sweetpotato root yields in the rotation treatment were significantly higher (28 t ha⁻¹) than the control (19.8 t ha⁻¹), representing a 47% gain in yield. Generally, the percentage gain in yield across years due to rotation ranged from 3 to 132%, depending on the variety. The total number of vine cuttings was significantly different between treatments and seasons (P < 0.001). Mean rice paddy yields in rotation were 8–35% higher than the control. The higher yields of sweetpotato in the rotation can be attributed to the rotation crop benefitting from residual fertilizers applied in rice in the previous season, while rice in the rotation crop could have benefited from the land preparation and establishment of the sweetpotato fields. The benefit of rotation for both crops varied by variety while the revenue-to-cost ratio varied by season and crop variety. Revenue-to-cost ratios for rotation and control treatments were greater than 1, indicating net profits were positive for both. The rotation generated 0.43 times more revenue than rice monocropping. Both rotation and monocropping systems generated profits, but rotation was 43% more profitable. In other words, if monocropping generates 1 dollar, rotation generates 1.43 dollars. The study concludes that rotation of sweetpotato with rice led to (1) increased yields of both rice and sweetpotatoes, (2) more profitable utilization of land, (3) enhanced availability of sweetpotato planting material at the beginning of the upland growing season, and (4) reduced the cost of land preparation for the main rice crop. Findings from this study show that there is great potential for diversification of rice-based cropping systems in Uganda, which will contribute to building sustainable food systems.

In sweet potato and potato, sensory traits are critical for acceptance by consumers, growers, and traders, hence underpinning the success or failure of a new cultivar. A quick analytical method for the sensory traits could expedite the selection process in breeding programs. In this paper, the relationship between sensory panel and instrumental color plus texture features was evaluated. Results have shown a high correlation between the sensory panel and instrumental color in both sweet potato (up to r=0.84) and potato (r>0.78), implying that imaging is a potential alternative to the sensory panel for color scoring. High correlations between sensory panel aroma and flavor with instrumental color were detected (up to r=0.66), although the validity of these correlations needs to be tested. With instrumental color and texture parameters as predictors, low to moderate accuracy was detected in the machine learning models developed to predict sensory panel traits. Overall, the performance of the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGboost) was comparable to the radial-based support vector machine (NL-SVM) algorithm, and these could be used for the initial selection of genotypes for aromas and flavors (r2=0.64–0.72) and texture attributes like moisture or mealiness (r2>50). Among the chemical properties screened in sweet potato, only starch showed a moderate correlation with sensory features like mealiness (r=0.54) and instrumental color (r=0.65). From the results, we can conclude that the instrumental scores of color are equivalent to those scored by the sensory panel, and the former could be adopted for quick analysis. Further investigations may be required to understand the association between color and aroma or flavor.

The potato processing industry in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda is expanding rapidly. This study assesses the current situation and outlook of the local industrial potato processing sector and the alignment of the industry’s variety requirements with the priorities set by breeders. Currently, potato processing companies in the three countries use both varieties selected locally from public international germplasm and varieties introduced by Dutch seed companies, and their suitability for processing is discussed as well. Overall, the processing industry pays high attention to traits affecting processing efficiency and consumers’ acceptance while breeders, in spite of being aware of the characteristics required for processing varieties, are more focused on traits related to production and disease resistance. As the processing sector develops further, breeders will have to pay increased attention to the progressively stricter requirements of the industry, striking the right balance between farmers’ and processors’ variety requirements. While their opinions on the farmers’ acceptability of processing varieties diverge, breeders and industry agree about the challenges represented by the limited access to quality seed and poor business linkages between value chain actors in securing the supply of varieties suitable for processing. Based on these findings, it is recommended to pay more attention to both the development of dual-purpose varieties and the strengthening of the potato value chain through the improvement of business linkages between seed producers, farmers, and processing companies.

The Vilcanota is the second-largest snow-capped mountain range in Peru, featuring 380 individual glaciers, each with its own unique characteristics that must be studied independently. However, few studies have been conducted in the Vilcanota range to monitor and track the area and volume changes of the Suyuparina and Quisoquipina glaciers. Notably, there are only a few studies that have approached this issue using LIDAR technology. Our methodology is based on a combination of optical, radar and LIDAR data sources, which allowed for constructing coherent temporal series for the both the perimeter and volume changes of the Suyuparina and Quisoquipina glaciers while accounting for the uncertainty in the perimeter detection procedure. Our results indicated that, from 1990 to 2013, there was a reduction in snow cover of 12,694.35 m² per year for Quisoquipina and 16,599.2 m² per year for Suyuparina. This represents a loss of 12.18% for Quisoquipina and 22.45% for Suyuparina. From 2006 to 2013, the volume of the Quisoquipina glacier decreased from 11.73 km³ in 2006 to 11.04 km³ in 2010, while the Suyuparina glacier decreased from 6.26 km³ to 5.93 km³. Likewise, when analyzing the correlation between glacier area and precipitation, a moderate inverse correlation (R = −0.52, p < 0.05) was found for Quisoquipina. In contrast, the correlation for Suyuparina was low and nonsignificant, showing inconsistency in the effect of precipitation. Additionally, the correlation between the snow cover area and the annual mean air temperature (R = −0.34, p > 0.05) and annual minimum air temperature (R = −0.36, p > 0.05) was low, inverse, and not significant for Quisoquipina. Meanwhile, snow cover on Suyuparina had a low nonsignificant correlation (R = −0.31, p > 0.05) with the annual maximum air temperature, indicating a minimal influence of the measured climatic variables near this glacier on its retreat. In general, it was possible to establish a reduction in both the area and volume of the Suyuparina and Quisoquipina glaciers based on freely accessible remote sensing data.

The growth of high-quality in vitro potato plants (Solanum stenotomum subsp. stenotomum, Solanum stenotomum subsp. goniocalyx, and Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena) is affected by multiple biological, operational, and environmental factors. Research on in vitro culture is frequently focused on the species, explant, composition of the culture medium, and incubation conditions, but only limited information is available on the effect of the gas exchange rate and volume of in vitro culture vessels under variable planting densities. In the present study, these factors were evaluated with a set of seven diverse potato landraces. The results were compared to the plants’ responses in routinely used in vitro culture vessels, i.e., 13 × 100 mm and 25 × 150 mm test tubes, and GA7® magenta vessels. In vitro potato plants grown in plastic vessels equipped with a HEPA filter delivering a high gas exchange rate developed thicker stems (0.95 mm), a higher total average leaf area (2.51 cm2), increased chlorophyll content in leaves (32.2 ppm), and lower moisture content in their tissues (90.1%) compared to filter systems with lower gas exchange rates. A high planting density of 10 × 10 plants per vessel (360 and 870 mL) negatively affected the average stem width and root length but increased the plant height (3.4 cm). High fluctuations of ion-uptake of NO3−, Ca++, K+, and Na+ were observed between genotypes, with some accessions having a 4.6-times higher Ca++-ion concentration in their tissues (190–234 ppm). The in vitro plants developed more robust stems, longer roots, and larger leaves within in vitro culture vessels equipped with a HEPA filter (high gas exchange rate) compared to the control vessels, in contrast to the chlorophyll content in leaves, which was higher in plants grown in narrow test tubes. Depending on the purpose of the subculture of in vitro plants, their growth and development can be molded using different gas exchange rates, planting densities, and vessel volumes.