Sweet potato (kaukau) farmers from Western Highlands benefited from learning improved methods of cultivating their staple food.
Through a field day last week, the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) demonstrated several research-based and innovative best practices.
NARI’s Tambul based regional development co-ordinator Kud Sitango said the event was organized for farmers to acquire new and improved ideas and skills by seeing and learning from exhibitions and demonstrations by agricultural researchers.
“The primary objective was to improve farmer understanding on the importance of the production and use of clean sweet potato planting materials for improved kaukau production in villages for human consumption and livestock feed,” Sitango said.
The recommendations were made in the areas of production of clean kaukau planting materials and field planting and management.
Disease free planting materials were distributed during the event. Cooking and tasting panels were also conducted.
Sitango said the attendance was beyond expectation, as not only did farmers from Kiripia and Alkena attend, but also those from around the Upper Kaugel area participated.
Kiripia and Alkena are target areas where NARI has a crop improvement initiative in addressing climate change issues through an EU funded agriculture research and development project.
The field-day, conducted at NARI Tambul, was part of the EU/NARI project.