Major Constraints to increasing Production and Productivity
The main constraints to increasing potato and sweetpotato
production and productivity in Eastern and central Africa
have been identified according to the three main agroecological
zones, i.e., highlands (above 1,800 masl), mid altitudes
(1,200 to 1,800 m) and low elevations (below 1,200 m). For
each constraint, strategies to solve the problems have also
been proposed (see table 2.5).
Constraints
to potato and sweetpotato are similar in the major agroecologies.
Productions constraints to potato include for instance,
lack of policy and market studies, late blight (Phytophthora
infestans), bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum), a
complex of viruses, tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella),
soil fertility decline, and poor storage.
Virus
diseases are widespread in sweetpotato; stem blight and
other diseases that attack its roots are also a problem.
Sweetpotato weevils (Cyclas spp), are the major insect
pest during dry seasons and in dry areas, and they cause
severe damage to storage roots stored in the ground.
Above
all, the lack of clean and good quality seed/planting
material from improved varieties and lack of appropriate
post-harvest technologies for processing and food product
development in response to market opportunities hampers
the increase in yields and the expansion of potato and
sweetpotato productivity.
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