Sweetpotato Success Story

In 2024, the Sweetpotato project successfully facilitated transfer of 64 landraces to CIP’s headquarters in Lima, Peru for long-term storage from Madagascar and Zambia under the rules of the International Plant Treaty, greatly exceeding the project target of 30 landraces. Without this initiative, many sweetpotato landraces unique to these countries would not have been safely conserved and made available to the world.

Twenty-nine landraces have been selected based on uniqueness and are undergoing processing in CIP-Lima for cryopreservation. Clean landraces have been sent to CIP’s facilities in Nairobi, Kenya, where they will be maintained through the end of the project.

In Madagascar, 24,350 clean vines from repatriated landraces were distributed to farmers, and 44,750 vines were provided to farmers in Zambia. Another distribution of clean vines to farmers is scheduled before the end of the project.

Farmer surveys have documented favorable comments, with participants excited by increased yields from clean and healthy sweetpotato vines obtained through the project, even in areas hit by severe drought.

“Farmers in Zambia and Madagascar are seeing improved yields from using disease-free planting materials of their landraces,” says Sarada Krishnan, Director of Programs at the Crop Trust. “Despite the drought, some landraces are performing well. Farmers have also benefited from training by local partners on maintaining plants free of diseases in their fields.”