Plant. Share. Eat. A simple and sustainable approach to overcome malnutrition, a major health issue for mothers and children in Malawi. You can help 3,000 farmers grow improved varieties of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes - high yielding, rich in Vitamin A and they taste good too! These farmers will then share their vines with another 12,000 households ultimately providing nutritious food to more than 75,000 individuals. They can also sell surplus crops as well to make more money - win/win!
Malnutrition is a major problem in Malawi as the staple diet is nsima, a porridge made from cassava or maize flour, with little protein and very few vitamins. Although some white fleshed sweet potatoes are grown in our area, the higher yielding orange-fleshed sweet potatoes which are higher in Vitamin A and other nutrients are not grown in the north of Malawi. Farmers and smallholders cannot afford to purchase the vines needed to plant these improved varieties.
RIPPLE Africa want to support more farmers to grow new varieties of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes to improve local people's diets. Farmers pass on vines to their neighbours increasing production at no extra cost. We are also educating householders in how to cook and use sweet potatoes in family meals to improve their nutritional value. In addition, RIPPLE Africa pre-school teachers provide a sweet potato meal for every child attending their preschools.
3,000 farmers will plant higher yielding crops of sweet potatoes and as each will share vines with 3- 5 neighbours, up to 15,000 families (75,000 people) will ultimately receive a more nutritious diet. 800 pre-school children will receive a nutritious meal at school making them less likely to suffer from Vitamin A deficiency. Surplus sweet potatoes will be sold at markets to urban households and the project will potentially improve the health of all 250,000 people in Nkhata Bay District.
