Sweet potato is among the leading root crops being cultivated in large quantities by farmers in Plateau State.
Some farmers who spoke on Thursday in Jos noted that the current food scarcity and economic realities had forced many of them to cultivate the crop in large quantities.
A correspondent, who visited some communities in the state, reports that many residents had also planted the crop on available spaces within their homes.
One of the farmers, Mr Jonah Mahanan, said the increasing demand for sweet potatoes had forced most farmers in the state to cultivate the crop in large quantities.
He attributed the surge in demand to the crop’s enormous health benefits and resistance to diseases.
“Sweet potatoes have become a more viable and profitable option for farmers, especially in this hardship; the demand is also on the high side, and farmers earn more cultivating it,” he said.
A farmer and primary school teacher, Mrs Rhoda John attributed the surge to the current economic realities in the country.
She argued that the inability of most Nigerians to afford yam and Irish potato had made sweet potato a suitable alternative.
Dr Shaibu Khaya of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Kuru, near Jos, maintained that aside from the health benefits, sweet potato is environmentally friendly, particularly with the current climate change being experienced.
Recently, the Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Jos inaugurated a project aimed at boosting sweet potato production in the state.
NAN
