The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is scaling up the cultivation and utilization of orange-fleshed sweet potato to reach more than 3,000 vulnerable households, in the Northern region, with over 1.5 million orange-fleshed sweet potato vines cultivated and planted in 2016.
Known locally as “Alaafei Wuljo”, the orange-fleshed sweet potato is a tasty, easy-to-grow yet highly nutritious crop. The USAID is scaling-up this crop in the North to improve the nutritional status of women and children. It is expected to improve the health of thousands of women and children by encouraging diverse crop production and the consumption of nutrient-rich foods.
Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, scientifically known as Ipomoea Batatas, are tasty and easy to grow in Ghana’s environment, even in the north.
They are also a good source of vitamin A, which helps to reduce anemia, a pervasive problem throughout Ghana. Nearly half of all women in the Northern region are anemic, and the region has the highest percentage of women with severe anemia in Ghana, according to the 2014 Demographic & Health Survey. Only 55% of mothers in Ghana get vitamin A supplement within two months after childbirth, as prescribed.
Additionally, in the Northern region only 44% of children under five years of age have received a vitamin A supplement in the past 6 months, compared to 65% nationally.
Night blindness is another result of vitamin A deficiency, and according to the World Health Organization, 7.5% of Ghanaian women of reproductive age, between 15 to 49 years, are afflicted with night blindness.
As part of the scale-up strategy, USAID is collaborating with UDS and the Peace Corps to promote the cultivation and consumption of “Alaafei Wuljo” in 17 districts in the Northern Region.
Promoting the cultivation, utilization and consumption of “Alaafei Wuljo” is an important, timely, and sustainable intervention to help reduce vitamin A deficiency and anemia in the Northern region.
Organizers now invite communities and households to join the “Alaafei Wuljo” movement and improve the nutrition of all Northern Ghanaians.
This devvelopment is based on the high level of success achieved during the pilot phase last year. During the pilot implemented in partnership with the University for Development Studies (UDS), nearly 100,000 “Alaafei Wuljo” orange-flesh sweet potato vines were distributed to 350 women for cultivation and more than 20,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes were harvested from 6 acres of land.
RING and UDS trained the women on orange-fleshed sweet potato cultivation, harvesting and utilization for household consumption with the aim of improving complementary feeding for children 6-23 months of age.
The training was conducted immediately after harvesting the roots and centered on the preparation of various local dishes including “Alaafei Wuljo” leaf stew, porridge, “mpotompoto” or potage, and fried chips.
This resulted in strong demand for the crop in both piloted and neighboring communities. “Alaafei Wuljo” recipes were especially popular when introducing solid foods to children over 6 months of age.
In a press release issued by the US Embassy, it was revealed that the results of the pilot demonstrated that “Alaafei Wuljo” can grow well on degraded soils and under average weather conditions.
It also noted that people in the communities have shown a high level of receptiveness and support for the “Alaafei Wuljo” intervention.
With the planting of the planting of 1.5 million orange-fleshed sweet potato seedlings, USAID and three of the Northern Region’s most popular and well-known musical artists are celebrating with song.
Based on their enthusiasm for this variety and its role in improving health and nutrition in the North, three local celebrities, Maigah Mustapha, stage named “TM,” Mariwan Alhassan, also known as “D-Almar,” and Salma Adam, who performs as “Princess Chizzy” composed a song titled “Yimiana kati kou,” a Dagbani phrase meaning “Come out, Let’s Farm.”
Through Feed the Future, President Obama’s global hunger and food security initiative, USAID is collaborating with the three artists to officially launch the “Alaafei Wuljo” promotional song and broadcast it on local radio stations.
