Sweet Potato

The goal of the Sweet Potato Project is to improve food security in East Africa by producing a sweet potato variety resistant to sweet potato virus disease (SPVD), the most destructive of the sweet potato viruses.

MISSION | TEAM MEMBERS | PROGRAM NEWS | CONTACT

Mission

One component of the Danforth Center mission is to feed the hungry and improve human health. Work on sweet potato improvement contributes significantly to this component. Sweet potato is an important source of energy and nutrients in sub-Saharan Africa. Disease caused by viruses reduces yields for small farmers who grow sweet potato, which impacts the family nutritionally and economically. The essential vitamin, folate, is insufficient in many diets to permit healthy human development. Research efforts in sweet potato are underway to address both of these needs by enhancing nutrient content and increasing virus resistance.