Scaling Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are an important crop for maintaining food security in Rwanda, because they can be grown on marginal lands, and cultivation continues in the dry season. Rwandans traditionally grow and consume white-fleshed sweet potatoes high in sugars but low in vitamins. New orange-fleshed varieties high in beta-carotene (a precursor to vitamin A) have been bred by the International Potato Center (CIP) and are suitable to Rwanda. We conducted side-by-side (Phase 2) trials of different improved orange sweet potatoes compared with local varieties, as well as trials to compare the relative effect of variety, fertilizer use, and planting method on sweet potato yields. These trials showed that variety has the largest effect on yields, and Naspot 10 is the best orange sweet potato variety.
Why tree planting on farms is a win for farmers and nature
Discover how agroforestry - the practice of planting trees among crops - offers smallholder farmers like Baraka, Dunstan and Claudine a variety of benefits.
The power of women smallholder farmers
Investing in women smallholder farmers like Jeanne D'Arc Mbanira is critical to significantly increasing agricultural productivity, food security, and household prosperity.
Claudine Ayinkamiye: Farmer, tree entrepreneur, climate adapter
In just the first season farming with One Acre Fund, Claudine Ayinkamiye, a 30-year-old farmer from Rwanda, managed to produce 900 kilos of potatoes and maize. Thanks to this surplus, she was able to invest in different crops and trees, making her better equipped to withstand erratic weather due to climate change.
A field officer’s mission: Planting the seeds of climate resilience within her community
Fifty-two-year-old One Acre Fund field officer Alphonsine Nyiransabimana dreams of a thriving agricultural industry in Rwanda, where farmers can earn a decent living. She is working to fulfill this mission by helping farmers in her local community access credit and quality seeds so that they can increase their harvests and adapt to extreme weather caused by the climate crisis.
