Project Name：Sweet Potato Production and Marketing Project (Swaziland)

Project status：Completed projects

Cooperating Country：Africa, Kingdom of Eswatini

Project Description：

The objectives of this project are to achieve the goals of food security and self-sufficiency for foodstuffs in Swaziland. To accomplish this, the project will assist farmers to launch farmers’ associations and to establish a marketing strategy that can be transferred to farmers, thereby ensuring that the operations of the project remain sustainable.
Overall, this project will:
1.Assist farmers to launch farmers’ associations and promote the cultivation of sweet potato for reaching the target of 360 hectares.
2.Establish nursery beds of sweet potato and hold workshops to train farmers.
3.Establish a sweet potato marketing system in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kingdom of Swaziland.
4.Provide training courses on the use and maintenance of agricultural machinery.

Implementation Start Date：2011-01-01

Implementation End Date：2014-12-31

Source of Funding：Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Project Objectives：

1.Promote cultivation of sweet potato over a total over 360 hectares, achieving an average yield of 8 tons per hectare and a total yield of 2,880 tons.
2.Establish sweet potato nursery beds in four regions over a total of 20 hectares; organize 12 agricultural workshops to train at least 720 farmers in planting sweet potato.
3.Establish a sweet potato marketing system in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kingdom of Swaziland.
4.Hold one agricultural machinery training program every year and provide machinery maintenance services; accelerate the mechanization of agriculture by engaging in capacity building activities.

Executing Agency：

Taiwan Technical Mission in the Kingdom of Swaziland / Ministry of Agriculture (Kingdom of Swaziland)

Implementation Arrangement：

The local Taiwan Technical Mission will assist the partner country to implement the project.

Project Performance：

To the end of December 2014, the following activities have been completed:

In 2011:
1. Set up and maintained sweet potato nurseries over a total of 20 hectares in four regions.
2. Increased new sweet potato beds over a total of 50 hectares in four regions throughout 2011 and 2012.
3. Increased production of sweet potato cuttings for extension over a total of 50 hectares in four regions throughout 2011 and 2012.
4. Conducted sweet potato processing and marketing training and sought out markets for the sale of produce.
5. Held a training course on farming machinery for 200 farmers.
6. Conducted contract farming, tilling and harvesting 100 hectares.

In 2012:
1. Sweet potato extension: Renewed and maintained a 20-hectare sweet potato nursery; increased coverage of sweet potato beds to 120 hectares and continued to provide guidance to farmers for the 2011/2012 season; held annual field days in each of the four extension regions and carried out capacity building for extension officers from the Ministry of Agriculture.
2. Sweet potato marketing channels: Supplied sweet potato to a supermarket chain and sought buyers for the sweet potato export market; cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Home Economics Department to integrate the operations of farming organizations, jointly carrying out the processing of sweet potato balls and performing test marketing through a supermarket chain; carried out sweet potato processing training for 100 persons, and carried out four training courses covering sweet potato production costs and profits, the value chain for sweet potato products, grading and storage, and processing and utilization.
3. Farming machinery center: Held a short-term training course on farming machinery, tilling and harvesting for 200 farmers; trained two seed trainers and two teaching assistants; imported a new tractor and five sweet potato harvesters; held machinery servicing training for 200 units and conducted contract farming services over 50 hectares.

In 2013:
1. Sweet potato extension: Renewed and maintained a 20-hectare sweet potato nursery; increased coverage of sweet potato beds to 120 hectares and continued to provide guidance to farmers for the 2012/2013 season; held annual field days in each of the four extension regions and carried out capacity building for extension officers from the Ministry of Agriculture.

2. Sweet potato marketing channels: Supplied sweet potato to a supermarket chain and sought buyers for the sweet potato export market. Cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Home Economics Department to integrate the operations of farming organizations, jointly carrying out the processing of sweet potato balls and performing test marketing through a supermarket chain; carried out sweet potato processing training for 25 persons; carried out four training courses for the benefit of 25 persons, covering sweet potato production costs and profits, the value chain for sweet potato products, grading and storage, and processing and utilization, also introducing components on initial post-harvest screening and accessing sales channels.
3.  Farming machinery center: Held a short-term training course on farming machinery, tilling and harvesting for 200 farmers; trained two seed trainers and two teaching assistants; imported a new tractor and five sweet potato harvesters; held eight training sessions for basic farming machinery and vehicle maintenance personnel, eight training sessions for farming machinery operators; held machinery servicing training for 200 units and conducted contract farming services over 50 hectares.

In 2014:
1. Extension of cultivating sweet potato (1) Established sweet potato nursery 20 hectares in four regions. (2) Organized sweet potato block farm and planted 15 hectares in each region, total planted 67.3 hectares. (3) Produced 2,755 bags of sweet potato veins from farmers’ own nursery and extended planting 46.67 hectares. 
2. 482 people participated cultivation of sweet potato workshops, holding a field day of exhibition in each region.Organized a sweet potato processing group in eastern, northern and southern region , trained  41 marketing talent.
3. Agriculture machinery (1) Trained 259 people for agriculture mechanical short term courses. (2) Trained 8 people for primary agricultural machinery and vehicle maintenance. (3) Trained 8 agricultural machinery operators. (4) Maintained 190 units of agricultural vehicles. (5) Provided 50 hectares of field preparation.

Projected Benefits：

1. Provide good sweet potato seedlings to farmers to increase the yield of crops; train farmers and extension officers to grow sweet potato with better skills.
2. Utilize the properties of sweet potato to address food shortages.
3. Raise the price of sweet potato to E5 (US$0.67) per kg by establishing a grading, processing and marketing system for sweet potato.

Mission：Taiwan Technical Mission in the Kingdom of Eswatini (Former Swaziland)