Jenkins Mica, Shanks Carmen Byker, Brouwer Roland, Houghtaling Bailey
1Food and Health Lab, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT USA.
International Potato Center, Maputo, Mozambique.
Food Secur. 2018;10(6):1501-1519. doi: 10.1007/s12571-018-0845-9. Epub 2018 Oct 25.
The addition of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) to the food environment is an effective nutrition-sensitive agricultural approach to improve vitamin A intakes. However, the adoption of this biofortified crop merits further study. The objective of our research was to understand factors that affect Mozambican farmers' adoption and retention of OFSP varieties, with a specific interest in the retention of planting material. Field research was conducted in three provinces of Mozambique during 2015. Provinces with different OFSP intervention histories were selected to allow for the identification of site-specific factors and the impact of variable approaches over time. Qualitative inquiry was used to assess participants' progress through the five stages of the Innovation-Decision process in the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. Ninety-five producers, consumers, and market stakeholders of OFSP participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups. Results indicate that diverse factors influenced the adoption and retention of OFSP, including organoleptic qualities, taste preferences, access to planting material, agronomic traits, environmental conditions, lack of capital for inputs and labor, unstable markets, and limited sharing of information and planting material across farmer networks. Current OFSP varieties were acceptable to Mozambican farmers and consumers, but there are several remaining challenges to reaching a critical mass such as lack of access to planting material, perceptions of superior drought tolerance of white-fleshed sweet potato (WFSP), and the belief that OFSP requires additional effort to cultivate (e.g. weed removal, measuring space between plants). Key recommendations which may be considered in future planning for OFSP interventions in Mozambique and other countries include enabling decentralized vine multipliers to provide vines to community members at no cost, continued focus on breeding and distribution of more drought tolerant varieties of OFSP, and training on the similarities in agronomic practices required for producing and preserving OFSP and WFSP.
在食物环境中添加橙色肉甘薯（OFSP）是一种有效的营养敏感型农业方法，可提高维生素A摄入量。然而，这种生物强化作物的采用情况值得进一步研究。我们研究的目的是了解影响莫桑比克农民采用和保留OFSP品种的因素，特别关注种植材料的保留。2015年在莫桑比克的三个省份进行了实地研究。选择了具有不同OFSP干预历史的省份，以便确定特定地点的因素以及不同方法随时间的影响。采用定性调查方法，根据创新扩散理论中的创新决策过程的五个阶段来评估参与者的进展。95名OFSP的生产者、消费者和市场利益相关者参与了半结构化深度访谈和焦点小组。结果表明，多种因素影响了OFSP的采用和保留，包括感官品质、口味偏好、种植材料的获取、农艺性状、环境条件、缺乏投入和劳动力的资金、市场不稳定以及农民网络中信息和种植材料的共享有限。莫桑比克农民和消费者接受目前的OFSP品种，但要达到临界规模仍存在一些挑战，如无法获取种植材料、认为白肉甘薯（WFSP）耐旱性更强，以及认为种植OFSP需要付出更多努力（如除草、测量植株间距）。在未来莫桑比克和其他国家OFSP干预计划中可考虑的关键建议包括：使分散的藤蔓繁殖者能够免费向社区成员提供藤蔓；继续专注于培育和推广更耐旱的OFSP品种；开展关于生产和保存OFSP与WFSP所需农艺实践相似性的培训。
