The sweet potatoes that were planted in December as part of trails being conducted at KaHlatjwayo Co-op in Soul Mkhizeville in Mkhondo Local Municipality were harvested last week.

According to Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs (Dardlea), this is the first season of the trials that will continue for two more seasons, to ascertain the best cultivars for the areas.

Similar trials are also being conducted in Thulamahashi, Dipaliseng and Ermelo by the department’s Crop Research Unit.

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Eight cultivars were selected for evaluation and the best will be recommended, depending on their performance for the specific areas mentioned.

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Department spokesperson Zanele Shabangu said, ”The main objective of the sweet potato study is to establish farmer participatory research. This also involves encouraging farmers to engage in experiments with an aim to learn, adopt new approaches and technologies, and share lessons learnt with other farmers.”
Shabangu said cuttings from the harvest were offered to other farmers to plant.