Orange Sweet Potato Campaign
Nearly one in every three pre-schoolers in Uganda lacks vitamin A, and a quarter of their mothers do as well. This can result in impaired immunity and eye damage leading to blindness and even death. Three NGOs team up to raise awareness about the importance of consuming Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes by putting the power of radio drama in to work.
Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
Nearly one in every three pre-schoolers in Uganda lacks vitamin A, and a quarter of their mothers do as well. This can result in impaired immunity and eye damage leading to blindness and even death. And this can all be minimized with a small change in the food that mothers and their children eat, by consuming OFSPs. OFSPs are packed with beta-carotene, an important source of vitamin A. One small, 150-gram serving of OFSP can meet a five-year-old child’s daily requirement of vitamin A. Nevertheless, in rural Uganda, the new potato’s superpowers are relatively unknown.
Combining strengths
To raise awareness and educate Ugandan people about the effectiveness of OFSPs, TRAC FM, Harvest Plus and Farm Radio teamed up. By combining the strengths of each other, these three NGOs created an unique way of bringing their message across.
My Children
My Children is a mini drama-serie, broadcasted in six languages by ten radio stations in Uganda, reaching 350,000 households in 13 districts. The drama is a story about love, domestic strife, money, power, and, of course, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. Florence, the heroine of the series, struggles to grow enough nutritious food to feed her family, and knows that her children are not as healthy as they could be. She reluctantly decides to give OFSP a try. But first she has to stop her money-obsessed husband from selling the family farming plot to fund a foolish “business idea.”
Polls part of this campaign:
What is your plan for planting sweet potato in the next season? - VOICE OF MUHABURA
#Where in your community can a farmer obtain sweet potato vines? - CBS