Updated Jun 18, 2019
Part of University of California, Davis
https://horticulture.ucdavis.edu/trellis-project/sweet-potato-leaves-family-nutritionLauren Howe
Send MessageFocus Areas:
Nutrition, Social and Behavior Change, Climate Change and Resilience and 1 MoreSEE ALL
Implemented In:
Ethiopia
Many agricultural communities in Ethiopia suffer from irregular, insufficient food production, food insecurity, and lack of dietary diversity with high consumption of staples. While sweet potatoes are widely grown in Southern Ethiopia, and despite evidence of the high nutritional value of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) leaves, they are not commonly used for human consumption due to ingrained food habits and lack of knowledge. The leaves, however, are used for animal feed and plant propagation.
Promoting sweet potato leaves as a dietary supplement has the potential to increase dietary diversity and micronutrient intakes, especially among women and children. Through training and extension efforts that include culturally appropriate cooking techniques and recipes, this innovation can be locally adapted. Promoting sweet potato leaves for human consumption involves developing an effective extension framework that can be used to introduce additional new horticultural crops.
Funding Goal | 200,000 | |
Projected Cumulative Lives Impacted | 49 | |
New Implemented Countries | Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia | |
Recruit | 1 project coordinator, 2 technical experts, 10 comunity volunteers | |
New Feature | Application of research-supported inputs and techniques including, but not limited to: drought and disease tolerant varieties of sweet potato, evidence-based techniques and frequency of harvesting the sweet potato leaves, and use of new methods for improving hygiene and preservation of the sweet potato leaves and the tuber. |
Mesfin Zenebe is the Farm Systems Manager for Send a Cow Ethiopia. With an MA in Water & Development, he has 14+ years of experience at both the grassroots and senior-management level in different local and INGOs in Sustainable Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Improved Animal Management, Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation, and Human Nutrition. Lauren Howe is a graduate student in International Agricultural Development and Public Health at the University of California, Davis.
EXECUTIVE TEAM INCLUDES WOMEN