Assessment of barriers and promoters for the adoption of Orange-fleshed sweet Potato in Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Vitamin A deciency (VAD) slows recovery from illnesses and increases the severity of infections like measles and diarrhoeal disease. Vitamin A deciency affects about 30% of children less than 5 years of age in Nigeria. The use of β- carotene biofortied Orange-eshed sweet potato (OFSP) has been recognised as one of the effective, food-based, and nutrition-sensitive agricultural approaches to improve vitamin A intakes. However, the adoption of this biofortied crop merits further study. This research assessed knowledge, attitude and adoption of OFSP among farmers in Kano State. Methods: Data were collected using questionnaire and focus group discussions (FGDs) from 125 respondents from farmers and consumers, in-depth interview was done with stakeholders in ministry of Health and Agriculture, eHealth and CIP, these were selected through purposive and simple random sampling. Mean, frequencies and percentages of data collected were analysed using SPSS (version 22). Results: The questionnaire result shows that OFSP acceptance was <30%, Choice preference showed that majority of farmers and consumers valued the WFSP more than the OFSP. The FGD's result indicates that the factors for promotion of adoption of OFSP include; availability of market niche, affordability, access to OFSP vines, pleasant taste and texture, sensitization on OFSP benets, resistance to pest, improve shelf life and promotion of local vines production system while barriers are the counteracts of the above mentioned. Conclusion: The level of adoption of OFSP in Kano State appeared low (<30%) among the respondents. This calls for efforts in addressing the barriers for the adoption of OFSP.