African governments, the private sector, research institutions, and development partners have been urged to prioritize investment in potatoes growth by scaling up innovations, support value chain actors, and facilitate intra-African trade in root and tuber crops.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture animal industries and Fisheries Frank Tumwebaze as he represented the vice president at the 13th Africa Potato Association (APA) Conference at Speke Resort- Munyonyo .
The Conference started Monday today 26th to Friday 30th May, 2025 and is running under the theme “Fostering Climate-Smart Cropping Systems for Sustainable Potato and Sweet potato Value Chains,”
These two crops of sweet and Irish potatoes offer scalable solutions for nutrition, income generation, and environmental sustainability.
To achieve this the Minister highlighted the need in fostering cross-border collaboration and removing trade barriers within the continent.
He says these are critical in opening up wider markets for agricultural produce from our respective countries, including potatoes and sweet potatoes, thereby enhancing farmer incomes and stimulating agro-industrial growth