In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Esonu Udeala, who grows Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) in Abuja, speaks about the untapped opportunities in the OFSP value chain for improving farmers incomes and tackling food insecurity in Nigeria.

Excerpt:

PT: As a passionate farmer, give us an insight into potato farming in Nigeria and why you are into potatoes.

Esonu: Potato farming is a common farming business in some parts of Nigeria. Plateau and Kaduna areas are more popular with Irish potatoes while the white-fleshed sweet potato is more spread all over the country. But the irony is that while Nigeria has a record of being one of the highest producers of potatoes in the world, it also has the record of being the country with the highest population of malnourished children. This is the intriguing point that aroused my interest in the farming of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. Potato farming is easier and cheaper when compared to other crops. It grows well on any well-drained sandy loamy soil in any part of Nigeria. It does not require much input of fertilisers and other chemicals. In fact, it’s best grown with farmyard manure like poultry dropping. Sweet potato, especially orange-fleshed sweet potato, has so many essential nutrients which make it an easy solution to the national malnutrition burden. So, I stick to farming OFSP as my little contribution to solving family, local and national health burdens.

PT: ⁠You cultivate a special variety of potatoes called the orange-fleshed sweet potato. What’s so special about it and are there secrets about this potato other farmers don’t know?

Esonu: Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) is a variety of sweet potato. It is native to Peru, South America. It was introduced to Nigeria by the International Potato Centre (CIP) in 2005 when it was handed over to the National Root Crop Research Institute, Umudike which carried out research to confirm its viability and benefits and released it to be grown in every part of the country. Orange-fleshed sweet potato derived the name from the colour inside it which is orange colour. The orange colour is an indication of high content of beta-carotene which is converted by the body into Vitamin A. Actually, sweet potatoes contain vitamins A, C, and other micronutrients. But orang-fleshed sweet potato has more Vitamin A than other types of sweet potatoes. Vitamin A is very critical to the health, immunity and well-being of human beings. The eyes, brain, and several organs of the body need a sufficient supply of this vitamin to function well. Because of how important Vitamin A is, it is one of the early immunisations given to babies and infants for proper growth. OFSP is rich in over 13 micronutrients, including Vitamin C, B1, B2, B3, B6, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Potassium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, Iron, etc So, you discover that the potato is not just food but also serves as medical therapy for some serious health challenges such as heart health, arthritis, ulcer, diabetes, and weight management. It is also very good in improving reproductive health both in men and women.

However, though the orange-fleshed sweet potato has this enormous potential, how you prepare and use it is what determines what it delivers to you. That is why I do not just farm OFSP, but do a lot of training and sensitisation of the public on both the production and processing of this great gift God gave us. The potato is completely useful. While we can prepare the tubers in different ways, the leaves are highly nutritious and can be used for soup, sauce, and tea. Both the tubers and leaves are good for livestock and even birds and fish. The painful thing is that most farmers of OFSP don’t even know what the crop carries and so only grow and sell and not consume it. So, it is important that policymakers take advantage of practitioners like me to push the knowledge of the health benefits of OFSP to the general public in order to increase both demand and production and improve the health and economy of Nigerians.

PT: What are the opportunities across the OFSP value chains that Nigerians can tap into?

Esonu: You don’t need to be a farmer to participate in the orange-fleshed sweet potato value chain development. There are so many things that you can do in this value chain. Tubers production – If you have access to farmland and you have a passion for farming, you can go into the production of the tubers. It is easy and lucrative. The crop has a short cycle of 90 to 120 days (three to four months). If well managed, it has a return of more than 149 per cent on investment. Unlike some other crops, after planting and weeding, which is done between the third and fourth week, you do not bother yourself until harvest.

Vine Multiplication – If you do not have access to much land but can access irrigation facilities, you can concentrate on the production of planting vines which are sold to farmers who do tuber production.

The return on Vine Multiplication is far higher than tuber production. This is an area youths can come in and fill the vine supply gap. In fact, for a productive farming cycle, access to quality vines is very critical. Governments and well-meaning individuals can empower young men and women (graduates) with plots of land, irrigation facilities and primary vines. In each state, such people can be selected and empowered to produce the vines to be used by farmers in their states. This will reduce the problem of long travels of vines which reduce their viability.

Processing – The OFSP provides great opportunities to food processors as there are over 42 dishes and recipes and products that are derived from this potato.

Merchant/Aggregators – This requires the availability of logistics and storage facilities. Orange-fleshed sweet potato is required in every part of Nigeria every time. Yet the crop is not available at all times as we are still mainly dependent on rain-fed agriculture. So, aggregators/merchants can fill the tuber supply gap, particularly during the off-season period. Researchers – There are so many products derived from orange-fleshed sweet potato, including starch, ethanol, biogas, and animal feed. Researchers can come up with the best way of doing these to improve efficiency and reduce costs. There is so much to talk about. Participation in our training programmes will open your eyes to both the industrial and economic potentials of OFSP.

PT: ⁠What will it take to grow OFSP in Nigeria?

Esonu: Cultivation of orange-fleshed sweet potato is less costly than many other crops. OFSP grows well in marginal soil. Simply put, all you need to grow OFSP is sandy, loamy soil. It requires minimum manure or fertiliser. However, as a tuber crop, it requires sufficient rainfall or water supply, especially within the first eight weeks after planting, to do well. That is why it is mostly grown during the rainy season while it is off-season during dry weather. So to grow and have orange-fleshed sweet potato throughout the year, one needs an irrigation facility. Orange-fleshed sweet potato is very important in Nigeria in battling food and nutrition security. Therefore, irrigation facilities should be provided to farmers who are ready to do dry-season farming. Also, to ensure that farm output is realised and utilised, it is important to secure the farm from herders who move around and eat up anything green, especially during the dry season. The government must intentionally promote the year-round production of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes if we actually want to deal with food and nutrition security.

PT: ⁠We have millions of unemployed people in Nigeria, particularly fresh graduates from school, do you think OFSP is an option for them?

Esonu: The orange-fleshed sweet potato value chain is a good area to engage a lot of people, especially young graduates who should come in with energy and innovation. The value chain has a lot of areas that need to be filled for it to be developed. And each area of the value chain is profitable.

The different areas of the OFSP value chain include land preparation service provision, vine multiplication and vine supply, tuber production, food and health shops, food processing and industrial production, aggregation and bulk-buying and supplies, storage/warehouse service and export marketing. Very little has been done in any of the above areas. We cannot go far when youths are neglected and not given direction and support. This is why my organisation, Simdozi International Limited, has been carrying out aggressive sensitisation on the health benefits of OFSP and its economic potential. This is a crop that can deal with food and nutrition security, biofuel and climate change mitigation. It contributes to food system resilience. In fact, involvement in OFSP production addresses SDG 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 13. You see that governments at all levels can use the OFSP value chain to achieve so much in such a short time and at minimal cost.

PT: ⁠What are the challenges potato farmers like you face in Nigeria?

Esonu: The potato value chain is not given the necessary support by the government. I can say that it is neglected. And that is why the level of malnutrition and Vitamin A deficiency is very high in the country. This food crop is not like rice, maize, or even cassava which both the federal government and various development partners give all their support. Whereas the above-mentioned crops are basically carbohydrates, the sweet potato has over 13 micro-nutrients and yet is also rich in carbohydrates. Find out, why is there no anchor programme for potato farmers. Why is AGRA supporting sweet potatoes in Ghana but not in Nigeria? Why do various World Bank-supported programmes in Nigeria have nothing to do with sweet potatoes in Nigeria, whereas Nigeria is said to be one of the highest producers of potatoes in the world?

How did I get into orange-fleshed sweet potato value chain development in the first place? I worked with the National Fadama Coordination Office, Abuja for nearly 10 years. Sometime in 2017, some people from Rainbow Project, Potato for Health, Potato for Wealth; a joint-funded pilot project on orange-fleshed sweet potato under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, came to our office. They came because their project which was piloted in six states was about to end. They came to seek collaboration with Fadama which had national coverage in the 36 states and FCT to help upscale their results. However, the management of Fadama told them that the project had a mandate for cassava and not for potatoes and so would not be able to help Rainbow Project upscale whatever positive results they had. It was in that meeting that I heard of orange-fleshed sweet potato for the first time and I picked interest in it and started reading about it and working on planting it.

I have been on it for seven years and pushed advocacy for there to be a conscious intentional effort to increase the awareness of the populace to the health benefits of this superfood and for it to be adopted as a staple in the country. Because awareness of the health benefits of sweet potato is still very low, most people prefer Irish potato over sweet potato. Meanwhile, sweet potato is nutritionally richer than Irish potato. There are no industries to off-take farm produce of the potato farmers at peak period, so there is a glut between August and October and the farmers lose a lot of money. This is one of the reasons why there are a few potato farmers across the country.

Sweet potato has multiple uses spanning several sectors of the economy. There is no multi-sectoral collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and other ministries and agencies that could promote and benefit from the sweet potato value chain. Another challenge I must mention is the lack of necessary machinery for the production of sweet potatoes. Apart from land preparation which can be supported with tractors, every other production activity is manual and costly. This makes the price of potatoes relatively high. There are many hurdles to the exportation of sweet potatoes. Most of these hurdles are worsened by the Nigeria system which makes most attempts to export abortive. Then society and cultural values and practices are also great limitations. Imagine, two years ago, someone I have a lot of respect for asked me why I was concentrating on orange-fleshed sweet potato production instead of rice or maize, which have the same cycle length of three to four months. No explanation I gave him made sense. If I were not determined, I would have long stopped growing sweet potatoes. Another officer of the federal government who initially wanted to do sweet potato came back to tell me that she would no longer do it because, according to her, the profit margin for sweet potato is less than that of rice or maize. So with such a mentality or value, you discover that the potato value chain is not given the support of investors as it should. The last but not least is the fact that potato is a tuber crop and therefore needs a lot of moisture in the soil to do well. Most potato farmers depend entirely on rain-fed production. This makes it difficult for the farmers to do two or three-cycle production which is possible with irrigation. Moreover, the issue of climate change and drought spells could be a disaster for the potato farmer whenever it happens. There are quite a number of challenges the potato farmer faces. However, it is the passion to alleviate the malnutrition burden in Nigeria that keeps most of us going.

PT: ⁠What are those things you would like to see the government do to encourage farmers like yourself in the country?

Esonu: When the government comes up with any intervention for farmers, they should make deliberate efforts to reach the real farmers and not just the office and political farmers. There should be sincerity of purpose in coming up with policies and programmes for farmers. It is only when there is serious stakeholder engagement with grassroots farmers that any government policy/programme can have meaningful results and impact. Road infrastructure is a serious constraint to farmers. The effect is seen in late access to inputs, markets, and high levels of post-harvest losses. Logistics: Potatoes, especially orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, require special vehicles to be transported over a long distance and be delivered in good condition. No individual farmer can provide such. So, the government should facilitate the establishment of such vans. Nigerians cannot effectively export fresh orange-fleshed sweet potato tubers because there is no curing centre in the whole country to cure the potato tubers. So, the establishment of curing centres and storage facilities will boost the production and marketing of sweet potatoes. Processing: Sweet potato can be used in several industrial and pharmaceutical formulations.

The government can provide an enabling environment and encourage people to use these locally-produced tubers. Orange-fleshed sweet potato bread is more nutritious than 100 per cent wheat bread. While many countries in Africa are using orange-fleshed sweet potato to make their bread and other pastries, we are still begging bakers to include OFSP in their products. The major challenge the bakers complain about is that they want to buy puree from the shelf just the same way they buy other baking ingredients and not involve themselves with the process of puree making. The government can help bring in puree-making machines which some people can buy and move into that business. Government can specifically encourage those of us who are working hard to keep the sweet potato value chain alive thereby drawing other people into it.