Sweet potatoes: “let the government help us get processing plants”

On Wednesday, November 6, 2024, a team from L’Express du Faso went to the Bobo-Dioulasso fruit and vegetable market, located in sector 9 of the city. Objective, take the pulse of selling sweet potatoes.

Sweet potato is a sweet and nutritious tuber, often loved for its delicious taste and versatility in cooking. It is rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre, making it an excellent choice for a balanced diet. Although sweet potatoes are available all year round, they are most common in late September to early November. It can be eaten in many ways and adapts to many recipes. In Burkina Faso, it is eaten much more in fat (sweet potato stew), fried (sweet potato fritter) or steamed but also in the form of chips. A very favorable period, the Bobolais want to take advantage of it. On the morning of today November 6, 2024 we went on a trip to the Bobo-Dioulasso fruit and vegetable market. When we arrived, we immediately saw large piles of sweet potatoes, scattered here and there, outside the market, creating a crowd around. These are customers who haggle over the price of sweet potatoes, either for resale or to eat with their family. Along the eastern entrance to the market are several retailers. Currently, this product is on the rise. Sales are made according to the specific needs of customers; they also depend on the quality and quantity desired by the customer.

The price of the bag is between 5000 FCFA and 10000 FCFA

As in any other field, there is no shortage of difficulties. Innousa Ouédraogo, a sweet potato retailer based outside the market, talks about these difficulties. According to him, “the difficulties encountered are mainly poor sales, irregular prices, conservation problems because the potatoes rot quickly if they are exposed to the sun. The prices of 100kg and 50kg bags are set by agreement between the wholesalers. The selling price of the bags varies from 5,000 FCFA to 10,000 FCFA, it all depends on the quality and variety. ” Unlike Innousa Ouédraogo, Balôgô is a wholesale sweet potato seller, located in the same market. She also tells us about her difficulties and takes advantage of appealing to the authorities. For her, “we access our supplies from some towns in Burkina like Orodara and even outside the country like Mali. I am a wholesaler. We buy directly from the field with trucks and a truck can load twenty to twenty four tons of potatoes. It all depends on the relationship we have with the producers. Supply is not an issue right now because we can tell it’s sweet potato season here in Bobo. The difficulties encountered are mainly at sales level. We often have serious problems when selling our goods. The reasons for this poor sale are of many kinds. Firstly, there is a problem of uncertainty in some areas which prevents us from going there to sell our products. In addition to this, it should be noted that people do not have much information about everything that can be done with sweet potatoes. They only know how to boil or fry it to eat. However, you can do many other things with potatoes. We are launching a heartfelt cry to the government, to help us get sweet potato processing factories in Burkina where we can transform potatoes into chips, flour, etc. “.
Catherine TIANIAGOU
Rachidatou COMPAORE / Interns