Drought and Virus Tolerant Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato

Resilient and Nutrient-Rich OFSP for Better Agriculture

The orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) technology is a variety of sweet potato adapted to drought, heat stress, and withstand infections by common viruses affecting the crop. Within an harvest maturity of 90 days, it can escape the risk tuber filling where rainfall is more uncertain toward the end of season. The technology of "Drought and Virus Tolerant Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato" addresses agricultural challenges related to climate, pests, and viruses, while also promoting food security, nutrition, and economic sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

7•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 7/9; level of use 7/9

Project adoption2

Technology integrated in the ESFSP, and IsDB Root and Tuber projects.

See project details ›

90 days

Days to maturity

IP

Open source / open access

Problem

Unstable sweet potato production: Drought and heat stress reduce the reliability of sweet potato production and affect the supply available for processing and marketing.
Short and uncertain production seasons: Unpredictable rainfall at the end of the season limits tuber filling and increases the risk of incomplete crop maturity.
Viral infections: Common sweet potato viruses damage crops and reduce yields.
Pest and insect damage: Weevils, aphids and whiteflies damage sweet potato crops and stored tubers, causing product losses.

Solution

Drought and heat-tolerant varieties: OFSP varieties are adapted to drought and heat, with traits that support production under drier conditions.
Early-maturing varieties: Some hybrid OFSP varieties reach harvest maturity within 90 days, helping production fit within shorter growing seasons.
Virus-tolerant varieties: The technology provides OFSP varieties resistant to common viruses, including SPCSV and SPFMV.
Pest and insect resistance: The varieties provide resistance to pests such as weevils, aphids and whiteflies, reducing damage to crops and stored tubers.

Key points to design your business plan

For Manufacture:

The multiplication of OFSP varieties presents a sustainable solution for farmers facing challenging climates, allowing them to withstand drought, heat, and common viruses.

To efficiently multiply this technology, it is important to note that OFSP varieties are propagated from seeds, tubers, or vines using familiar procedures. Planting cuttings from vines is a common and easily self-made method. Healthy slips or cuttings are nurtured in beds or water and then planted at an angle in the soil, spaced 50 cm between rows and 30 cm from plant to plant. In Kenya, a bag containing 10 kilograms of OFSP vines is sold for less than USD 20, including transport costs. For one acre (0.3 hectares), you typically need 20 bags of vines, making a total cost of USD 400.

The multiplication of this technology does not require the purchase of a license. Your potential customers include wholesale distributors of seeds to retailers, as well as development projects, government agencies, and NGOs.

User

Using OFSP varieties guarantees the cultivation of robust sweet potatoes, offering high yields and nutritional benefits in challenging climates.

As key partners you need sellers of bouture de OFSP.

You need to know the quantity and the price of OFSP vines.

You need to estimate the profit realized with the use of the the product

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

Its provides a stable, nutritious food source and an opportunity to generate income from surplus yields, offering economic resilience in drought-prone areas.

The poor: Positive medium

It helps reduce vulnerability to food insecurity during droughts and supports a more consistent income stream through potential sales, improving livelihoods for poor families.

Under 18: Positive medium

Its helps improve nutrition for children, reducing risks of vitamin deficiencies in communities with limited access to diverse food sources.

Women: Positive medium

Its helps improve household income, allowing women to better support their families.

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Its is well-suited for regions facing extreme weather, particularly drought, and performs consistently in low-water environments, making it an ideal crop for climate-affected regions.

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Its empowers farmers to adapt to changing climate conditions by providing a reliable crop that can withstand droughts and reduce dependency on other, less resilient crops.

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Its supports crop diversity, helping to reduce reliance on monocultures and promote a healthier ecosystem that benefits from varied plant species.

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Its natural disease resistance minimizes the need for pesticides, contributing to a healthier ecosystem by reducing chemical exposure for surrounding plants, animals, and water sources.

Water use: Same amount of water used

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology's development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology's readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 7 out of 9

Semi-controlled environment: prototype

Level of use 7 out of 9

Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Project	Countries	Beneficiaries	Budget (USD) & duration	Key figures
ESFSP Emergency Support to Food Security Project	Guinea-Bissau	Direct: 46,635 Indirect: 69,953	6.5 million 2022–2024	1,253 tons certified cereal seeds 1,350 tons fertilizer provided 32,096 hectares land seeded 37,335 tons additional production expected
IsDB Root and Tuber IsDB Root and Tuber Value Chains Development Project	Benin	Direct: 150,000 Indirect: 1,000,000	550.000 2021-2026	20 municipalities targeted Rural roads constructed Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponic (SAH) complexes established

Project

Countries

Beneficiaries

Budget (USD) & duration

Key figures

ESFSP
Emergency Support to Food Security Project

Guinea-Bissau

Direct: 46,635
Indirect: 69,953

6.5 million

2022–2024

1,253 tons certified cereal seeds
1,350 tons fertilizer provided
32,096 hectares land seeded
37,335 tons additional production expected

IsDB Root and Tuber
IsDB Root and Tuber Value Chains Development Project

Benin

Direct: 150,000
Indirect: 1,000,000

550.000

2021-2026

20 municipalities targeted
Rural roads constructed
Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponic (SAH) complexes established

Figures in italic are from project plans and may change during implementation.

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Mozambique	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid		–		–
Subhumid		–		–
Humid	–	–	–	–

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

By enhancing food security with high yields under drought conditions, OFSP provides a reliable food source in regions susceptible to climate change, directly addressing hunger and malnutrition.

Goal 3: good health and well-being

By contributing to better nutrition and health, particularly in communities vulnerable to nutrient deficiencies.

Goal 13: climate action

By reducing the need for water and chemical inputs, supporting sustainable farming practices that lower environmental impact.

To cultivate the drought and virus-tolerant orange-fleshed sweet potato varieties (OFSP), the following steps are required:

Choose drought and virus-tolerant OFSP varieties for propagation. Propagation material can be obtained from seeds, tubers, or vines.
The same procedures as non-adapted cultivars can be followed for propagation.
Cuttings from vines are the most commonly used planting material. Ensure the cuttings are healthy and disease-free.
Plant slips from tubers or cuttings from vines in nursery beds or by placing the base of the stem in water.
Select healthy slips or cuttings for planting. Ensure they have well-developed roots and shoots.
Plant the healthy slips or cuttings in the main field. Insert them at an angle into the soil. Maintain a spacing of 50cm between rows. Space the plants 30cm apart from each other.