The sweet potato AGROSAVIA Aurora is positioned as an alternative for the diversification of agricultural products on San Andrés Island

• Linking the Technological Offer in Sweet Potato on San Andrés Island.
• Establishment of two productive nuclei of high-quality sweet potato AGROSAVIA Aurora seed in multiplication beds with super elite sweet potato seed.
• "Thanks to the support of AGROSAVIA, we have observed how this product has given good results in the island territory, and we see that it has an enormous potential": Graybern Livington Forbes.

 

Montería, Córdoba. April 13, 2023. The team of researchers from the AGROSAVIA Aurora Sweet Potato Linkage Plan of the Turipaná Research Center has undertaken approaches with the Government of San Andrés, specifically with the Secretary of Agriculture and Fisheries of this department to link our Technological Offer in Sweet Potato in this region. These approaches are an option for agricultural diversification, considering that this department has been affected by natural phenomena such as hurricanes Iota and Julia, affecting agricultural production.

After various encounters and meetings, it was agreed to establish an assembly of two elite seed multiplication nuclei, one with the Veterans' Association and another with the Raizales Youth Organization (R-Youth). The latter is directed by Graybern Livington Forbes, who expressed their interest in testing this new material on the island and evaluating the acceptance of this product in the community.

Rocío Margarita Gámez Carrillo, a Ph.D. staff at Turipaná and leader of the Sweet Potato Linkage Plan, stated that in this way, AGROSAVIA, after "organizing all the logistics to be able to get the material to the Island and with the support of the National Navy and the Secretary of Agriculture and Fisheries of San Andrés, held the first field day called: New Offer of the Sweet Potato AGROSAVIA Aurora with Orange Pulp for the Insular Region of the Colombian Caribbean – Archipelago of San Andrés Island."

During the field day, producers had the opportunity to learn about the technological offer, and the production schemes for high-quality seed and the nutritional benefits of sweet potato were explained to them. The biologist Jazmín Vanessa Pérez Pazos, a research support professional at the Center, indicated that "In addition, the establishment of the two productive nuclei of high-quality sweet potato AGROSAVIA Aurora seed was carried out in multiplication beds with super elite sweet potato seed and with the participation of producers, who were positive and had high expectations regarding the plant material."

As a result of this approach, since March of this year, the community has carried out the first harvests of the material, obtaining sweet potatoes with good characteristics. "Thanks to the support of AGROSAVIA, we have observed how this product has given good results in the island territory, and we see that it has enormous potential because it is a product that has many qualities. It can be adapted to deal with drought issues and is resistant to pests and diseases that occur on the island" argues Graybern Livington Forbes.

Due to the high beta-carotene content, the material is positioned as a variety with great agro-industrial potential thanks to its easy handling. According to Forbes, the producers of San Andrés have been able to transform sweet potato into fortified flours for feed, chips, sweets, and cakes, among others, and pointed out that "the region’s cooks (women) have approved the material because it has a pleasant texture and an intense flavor."

Currently, the R-Youth organization was selected by the Secretary of Agriculture of San Andrés, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to manage a food processing plant that will be established on the island to develop products with potential in the region, including, among others, the sweet potato AGROSAVIA Aurora.

Gámez Carrillo mentioned, "For AGROSAVIA and particularly for the Turipaná Research Center, it is satisfactory to know these results because it shows the appropriation and adoption of the technological offers generated by the Corporation and that these reach all corners of the national territory." Moreover, in this way, the Corporation offers new alternatives for the production and diversification of products, responding to food security needs, which is not only one of the purposes of AGROSAVIA but is also part of the public policies to support vulnerable regions as a government mandate.