Tuber Utilisation Among Sweet Potato Producers in Eastern Uganda

The limited local and international demand stature of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) in Uganda can be attributed to a poor marketing and distribution system. This, in part, can be attributed to limited consumption, processing and storage options for the crop. The majority of the sweet potato farmers in the country are subsistent; they consume most of their output on-farm with the excess being sold. Any successful intervention measure to promote sweet potato utilisation must involve the farmers since they are a major determinant of the quality and quantity of the final output. However, before any concise remedies can be proposed and concrete action taken in a bid to improve the current state of sweet potato utilisation in the country, a lot more needs to be known about the crop, more so its utilisation. Examining the current sweet potato tuber utilisation options available to the producers can be a good starting point. This study aims at examining the various tuber utilisation options available to sweet potato producers in eastern Uganda. It addresses utilisation in the context of output storage, processing, marketing and consumption.