Government pledges support as 13th African Potato Conference begins

27 May 2025, 11:30 am

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze, while officiating the 13th African Association Conference at Speke Resort in Munyonyo, Kampala, stated that the conference came at a time when the world is urgently seeking climate-resilient, nutritious crops to ensure food and income security.

The five-day conference is providing an opportunity for Ugandan farmers to interact with government officials and experts to improve their value chains. Organised by the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) under the theme, “Fostering Climate-Smart Cropping Systems for Sustainable Potato and Sweet Potato Value Chains,” the conference has brought together participants from across the globe.

“The theme is timely. With climate change, population growth, and declining arable land, solutions for nutrition, income, and sustainability are needed,” Tumwebaze said. He stressed that climate-smart innovations and ongoing government research support are vital to accelerating agricultural transformation in Uganda and across Africa.

He added that the conference re-emphasised the importance of different varieties of sweet potatoes, noting that they are not only good for human consumption but also useful as animal feed.

“There are two issues—hunger and malnutrition. Malnutrition is not always an outcome of food scarcity; it is often due to a lack of nutritious food. You can have plenty of food, but if it is not nutritious, malnutrition persists. Potatoes are a great source of nutrition. It makes no sense for one part of the continent to have food surpluses with no market, while another part faces starvation due to state barriers. This requires the involvement of policymakers and the attention of heads of state. We need to balance our food trends not just for economic prosperity but also to achieve zero hunger,” the minister said.

He reassured participants of the government’s commitment to supporting sweet potato and potato farmers.

Speaking to the participants, the Director General of NARO, Dr. Yona Baguma, appreciated everyone for attending the conference and expressed optimism that significant progress would be made over the five days.

“I welcome you all to this conference. From subsistence to significance, potatoes and sweet potatoes are transforming food systems, boosting incomes, and building resilience. APAUG2025 is where innovation meets impact. We must think critically, act collectively, and innovate boldly,” he said.

Dr. Baguma called upon stakeholders to collaborate at high levels across science, policy, and business to build value chains that benefit millions of smallholder farmers and consumers.

Participants urged the government and NARO to take action on the resolutions made during the conference.

“I thank the government and NARO for organising this wonderful conference, but I humbly request that they start acting on the resolutions we make here. Otherwise, we will spend the whole week and leave as we came, even though we’ve developed good strategies that could help us improve our earnings as potato and sweet potato farmers,” said one farmer who preferred to remain anonymous.

Meanwhile, Muwuma Betty from Kamuli district highlighted irrigation and transport as some of the major challenges affecting farmers.