Mbatata in the hall of fame

June 8 2023

Malawi has always been touted as an agro-based economy. Primarily, this is so because agriculture accounts for over 30 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while the sector employs over 80 percent of the labour force and about 83 percent of our foreign exchange earnings are from agriculture.

It is also worth noting that much of our manufacturing sector is also deeply-rooted in the agro-processing activities in our main cash crops: Tobacco, tea, sugar and coffee.

These musings come out as there is much talk that although the staple maize has apparently not done well, sweet potatoes—mbatata—are bountiful this season. Even our dear marketers are tagging their products to this growing mbatata tagline.

It is a foregone fact that mbatata is currently in the hall of fame because the price of bread is obscenely high that even those that thought mbatata ndi yachimidzi find it in abundance on the market.

The popularity of mbatata today is a sure barometre of the hard economics Malawians are facing. What else can you say of a country where the five water boards are raising tarrifs by 50 percent? What would you say of a country where a proposal is being made to have a food bill to check rising food costs?

It is not surprising that Malawi is indeed one of the large sweet potato producers in sub-Saharan Africa. During the season of plenty, make time to be at Chinakanaka in Mulanje and see the bags upon bags of the tuber on bicycles ready for marketing. Spare some time in Mitundu, Lilongwe, then you will see that mbatata is a crop to reckon with in Malawi.

As a matter of fact, so many international organisations have been involved in the development of mbatata production to increase food security and end poverty, among others. They include development arms of foreign embassies like the German International Cooperation (GIZ), the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), among others.

There has been research on mbatata at Lifuwu and Bvumbwe research stations in Salima and Thyolo respectively championed by global bodies like CGIAR and the International Potato Centre.

On the ground, there have been tangible results with the introduction of more varieties which farmers are growing and multiplying in a number of districts. For most of us growing up enjoying mbatata, the varieties were limited to kamchiputu, yofiira mkati and just plain mbatata.

Now the choices are wide. Depending on the area, production period, yield and other factors, today farmers are growing such varieties as anaakwanire, chipika, kadyaubwerere, kaphulira, mathuthu and zondeni.

From these local names, it is clear that mbatata is no longer just mbatata. Out there in the field, farmers have been trained to produce flour from mbatata which they use to bake fritters and cakes, some are making juice from mbatata and many more have been involved in the profitable business of multiplying kholowa, which they sell to fellow farmers and organisations engaged in development.

In fact, I have met a farmer in Kasungu who has repudiated tobacco for mbatata. I have met a farmer in Mulanje whose life transformed literally from rags to riches by simply selling sweet potato stems to organisations promoting mbatata.

So, the question of why the increase in mbatata can be explained simply by the efforts that have been done not only in research but also production on the ground.

But, the question remains: What are we doing about processing the mbatata that is in so much abundance? Apart from telling farmers that they can produce chigomwa (you can call it potato puree if you are more into King Charles’ language), what other ways can farmers use to preserve potatoes for later?

In some villages, farmers are encouraged to store potatoes in pits, which they bury and add ash for a three-month period. How can this be improved since some farmers say the new varieties rot easily in these nkhuti?

In all, let us make the most of the mbatata as far as they last.