Participatory Analysis of the Potato Knowledge and Information System in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda
Year: 2009
Type: book
Abstract: Potato is important for smallholders in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia as both a cash crop and a food-security crop. Potato production has tripled in ten years since the mid 1990s in sub-Saharan Africa, almost exclusively
because of area expansion (FAOSTAT, 2006). With its cultivation restricted
to the highlands and its ever-increasing consumption in cities, potato is
the cash crop of the future for the densely populated eastern and central
African highlands. To satisfy the growing demand from urban centres
for cheap food, there is room for additional growth in potato production.
Further area expansion will, however, put a strain on natural highland
forests in eastern Africa. Producing potatoes at lower altitudes in the
equatorial tropics is not feasible because of pest and disease pressure and
physiological limitations of the crop. The only option for increased potato
production is, therefore, raising crop productivity.
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Zero hunger, No poverty
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1542700565