Rwanda is the third largest consumer of sweet potatoes in Africa and 9 out 10 farm households in Rwanda cultivate sweet potatoes. Sweet potato growing is increasingly becoming important food security crop. The varieties of sweet potatoes grown in Rwanda include the following;
- White sweet potatoes
- Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
Districts that grow sweet potatoes
The districts that grow sweet potatoes include the following;
- Rulindo District
- Muhanga District
- Kamonyi District
- Bugesera District
Diseases that attack sweet potato in Rwanda
The diseases that attack sweet potatoes include the following;
- Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV)
- Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV)
- Sweet potato mild mottle virus (SPMMV)
- Sweet potato chlorotic fleck virus (SPCFV)
- Sweet potato caulimo-like virus (SPCaLV)
- Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) using nitrocellulose membrane enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Uses of sweet potatoes
The uses include the following;
- Sweet potato flour can be used as a substitute for imported wheat flour
- Sweet potato generates cash income
Challenges
The growing of sweet potatoes has the following challenges;
- The sweet roots are bulky and costly to transport long distances.
- There are no adequate domestic markets for the sweet potatoes.
- Sweet potato prices plummet during periods of abundance.
- The farmers do not use modern methods of growing sweet potatoes.
- Unavailability of farm inputs.
- Poor storage facilities for the sweet potatoes.
- High infestations of various sweet potato viruses.
- The sweet potatoes are also attacked by vertebrate pests.
Areas that Grow Sweet Potatoes
The key sweet potatoes growing districts include the following;
- Gakenke District
- Bugesera District