(Tetum) The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and Seeds of Life has 150,000 sweet potato cuttings of Hohrae 1, 2 and 3 released varieties available for distribution to farmers and institutions this January and February.

Any farmers or institutions interested in getting some sweet potato cuttings should contact the MAF Seed Department in Comoro, Dili, (Lucio Nuno – 7723 6690) or Seeds of Life (Simao Margono Belo – 7700 6185).

All three varieties produce double the yield in half the time (3-4 months), compared to local sweet potatoes (7-8 months). Once the varieties are planted they can be harvested 3-4 times, whereas most crops are planted once and harvested once.

The three varieties are all sweet in flavour and have big tubers, but differ in colour and texture:

  • Hohrae 1: White flesh, moist texture, can be grown at all elevations (particularly above 500m elevation ie. above where people grow coffee), sells for a good price (read Tetum brochure)
  • Hohrae 2: Cream flesh, crumbles in your mouth, a good breakfast sweet potato, has tasty young leaves that sell for a good price (read Tetum brochure)
  • Hohrae 3: Orange flesh, moist texture, very high in vitamin A, sells for a good price (read Tetum brochure)

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These varieties were developed to suit traditional farming practices in Timor-Leste, and are not hybrid nor GMO varieties. No farmer will ever have to pay royalties for using Seeds of Life varieties.

The cuttings are available from:

  • Aileu cutting distribution centre (till end of January only)
  • Betano research station (till end of January only)
  • Baucau – Triloka cutting distribution centre
  • Bobonaro – Ritabou cutting distribution centre
  • Loes research station

Seeds of Life has already distributed over 200,000 cuttings to farmers and community seed production groups across Timor-Leste since October 2013.

If you have any questions or want more information please contact the Seeds of Life office on 7796 3577.