Gaining the ground: Rethinking the role of sweet potato crop as a strategy to combat household food insecurity in Kenya

Roots and tuber crops that include sweet potatoes, potatoes, cassava and yams are grown by many small holder farmers in many developing countries as part of the agricultural system to provide family dietary requirements and occasionally as cash crop. In many of these countries, they are only second to cereals as staples and provide energy and carbohydrates and contribute significantly to food security at the household level. However, at the national policy level, little attention has been given to these crops (except for Irish potatoes) as one avenue of tackling food insecurity. Most government strategies meant to combat food insecurity focuses on increasing cereal crop production, relying on external market access to food items, food aid or assistance during famines and improving infrastructure and financing for ‘traditional food’ crops such as maize, wheat, sorghum, beans and Irish potatoes. This paper argues that there is need to re-orient policy and strategies that tackle food insecurity by promoting the adoption of technologies that will improve production, processing, commercialization, and consumption of these crops, especially sweet potatoes given its’ adaptability to grow in different ecological zones; The adaptability of the crop makes it suitable for those areas considered marginal for most cereal cultivation. The commercialization and processing will provide income streams that famers can use to complement their own farm food production. The paper is based on an analysis of policy and agricultural production data from various government agencies.