Experts have called for increased funding in potato research to address challenges like climate change, pest outbreaks, and post-harvest losses, which threaten the sustainability and resilience of potato value chains.
According to experts, the increased funding would support research into developing climate-resilient potato varieties, improving post-harvest handling and storage, and enhancing value addition processes, ultimately benefiting farmers and consumers.
“We need funds to carry out research in more varieties that mature faster the more broad, tolerant and meet quality standards required by the processing industry. There is need for research on seed systems, on best and disease diagnostics and on climate,” the Minister of Agriculture, Frank Tumwebaze said.
He was speaking on Monday during the opening of the 13th African Potato Association Conference in Kampala.
The minister said Uganda is currently among Africa’s leading producers of potatoes with an annual production of approximately 1.8 metric tons of sweet potato.
He said potatoes are now the third most important crop in Uganda, after cassava and bananas, grown predominantly in highland zones between 1000 and 2000 meters above sea level, especially in regions surrounding like Victoria as the crop serves as a critical food security buffer for millions of households.
On the potato front, Tumwebaze said Uganda is the third largest producer in East Africa, with an annual output of over 162,000 metric tons.
“With this production, however, there is even greater potential, with 55,000 further and total metric tons currently exported to neighboring countries, and 30,501 metric tons imported, many affordable consumption. We clearly have an opportunity to strengthen our domestic production quality standards and processing capacity meet both local and regional demand.”
According to Tumwebaze, with increased funding in research, this output can also go up.
The Director General of the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), Dr.Yona Baguma who is also the president of Africa Potato Association re-echoed similar sentiments.
“As a continent and as national governments, we must dedicate more resources to ensure we further the research journey. This calls for us to engage with policymakers to ensure at national level we have dedicated funding for sweet potato and potatoes,” Dr.Baguma said.
He also called for a joint action by the national program, regional and global programs as well as private sectors to present one voice to development partners.
“We need to present a coherent message to national governments seeking for increased funding. There is no way we shall further this effort to benefit the generation that will come after us when there is no dedicated funding. I call for action that is continental but not fragmented but focuses on these commodities as future security food crops for the continent,” Dr. Baguma added.
He called for public-private partnerships to help fund research in potato.
“When we talk about potatoes, there is one concern as Uganda and Africa endowed with fertile lands, we still import potatoes into our countries. Then how are we engaging with the industries using potatoes? If you have the opportunity to eat French fries, you will realise that some of the potatoes are imported from other countries. Why don’t we , for example, in Uganda invest in research in these varieties that we import from other countries and align to industrial utilization," said Denis Ngabirano, the Managing Director of Psalms Food Industries Limited.
The FAO country representative in Uganda, Yergalem Taages Beraki said the conference aligns well with their Strategic Framework 2022–2031, which seeks to support the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life - leaving no one behind.
" In the potato and sweet potato sectors, our work has focused on improving seed quality, enhancing farmer training, and promoting climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive practices. FAO has supported these value chains over the past several years – contributing to put a foundation for continued innovation and impact,"Beraki said.