Datasets for: Rapid Assessment Study to Identify Market Preferred Varieties and Map the existing Sweetpotato Seed Channels in Mara and Geita regions of Tanzania

A rapid assessment study was conducted in Tanzania under the Sweetpotato Genetic Advances and Innovative Seed Systems (SweetGAINS) project. The objectives of the study were to identify market preferred varieties; map the existing sweetpotato seed channels; understand the role and functions of different stakeholders within the seed system in the target area and identify the potential partnership; establish the yield and profit margins for root producers, and then develop a sustainable business model for sweetpotato seed entrepreneurs that links the formal and informal seed sector in the study region. Mara and Geita regions in Tanzania were purposively selected as part of the project activities zones. Key informant interviews were conducted with 45 traders in major sweetpotato root markets using snowball method and identified the source of the sweetpotato roots. Subsequently, a household survey was conducted via personal interviews of 110 root and seed producers of market preferred varieties in Bukombe and Butiama Districts. The study also conducted key informant interviews with other key stakeholders such as the public sector (i.e, Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute-TARI) and NGOs.