VIETNAMESE SWEET POTATO

SWEET POTATO: Projects

SWEET POTATOES

The sweet potato was introduced to Vietnam in the late sixteenth century via the Luzon Islands of the Philippines. Since then the sweet potato has become well established in Vietnam due to its high yield relative to both land and labor and its capacity to grow in relatively poor soils. All varieties combined sweet potato currently ranks third among all crops (behind rice and maize) in terms of area cultivated and volume produced.

In the highlands of Dalat our farmers cultivated the Japanese sweet potato variety which is a purple-skinned, yellow-white fleshed sweet potato. This variety is commonly used in Asia as a thickener and flour substitute.