Change agents and better seeds lead to sweetpotato success in Tanzania

In any field, change needs leaders – even in agriculture.

Mary Samson may appear like an ordinary farmer, toiling in her fields to grow sweetpotato, among other crops, for her family’s dinner table and the market place. But she is anything but ordinary. Samson is an agent of change, helping farmers in Bukombe district, Tanzania, to improve their sweetpotato yields with certified healthy seed.

The SweetGAINS project, supported by the International Potato Center (CIP) in collaboration with the Tanzanian Agriculture Research Institute (TARI), seeks to improve the lives of all Africans by developing systems to improve sweetpotato varieties and production and build value chains that ensure this nutritious crop reaches vulnerable families.