Ensuring Food Security of Smallholder Farmers through Improving Productivity and Nutrition of Potato

Abstract In a time of extremely high population growth, loss of arable land and climate change effects, food security issue is becoming more and more important. Thus, improving the food security of smallholder farmer is a major concern particularly in developing country. In this regard potato is one of the important cash crops which contributes for food security and reduce poverty among smallholder farmers in the developing countries like Ethiopia. However, the productivity of the crops is constrained by the limitation of soil macronutrient. Therefore, this research was conducted with the aim to improve potato productivity through intensive and economical uses of soil macronutrients. A factorial combination of four soil macro nutrients and three potato varieties were used in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The result revealed that soil macronutrients and potato variety had significantly influenced on phenology and growth components. Interaction effects of soil macro-nutrients and variety had also significantly affected total and marketable tuber yield of potato. The marginal rate of return of 7,370% was obtained from the Wabi variety with the application of 200 kg ha − 1 soil macro-nutrients (NPS fertilizer). Therefore, growing the Wabi variety of potato at 200 kg/ha of soil macro-nutrients resulted in a high productivity and economic returns of the crop.