Sweet potatoes

When the UPEI nutrition students visited the Meru area last summer they identified that the diet of many people is deficient in Vitamin A. Vitamin A is very important for vision, immunity from disease and healthy skin. It is especially important for young children to prevent night blindness.
Orange sweet potatoes are a very good source of vitamin A, one small one will meet a persons’ daily needs. Kenyan farmers grow sweet potatoes, but they are white and not high in vitamin A.
Susan MacKinnon and I did presentations to both the Ruuju and Muchui Womens groups about the benefits of orange sweet potatoes and how to grow them. We also purchased some orange sweet potatoes in Nairobi and cooked them for the women so that they could try them.
We have made arrangements for both groups to get slips of orange sweet potatoes to plant during the next rains.
Angus Mellish