The provincial agriculture ministry is trying to develop a sweet potato variety that local farmers can grow better than the American ones they use now.
A few farmers in Chatham-Kent and some in Norfolk grow them now, but plant breeder Valerio Primomo says there is a lot of room for more.
"From 2007 to 2011, we've seen a doubling in consumption among Canadians, about 60-million kilos(2011 figures) of sweet potatoes being imported every year," he says. "The number one criteria is to look at yield because that's what the growers are getting paid by, by kilo, so yield is important but we are also looking at other attributes such as flavour."
He says the variety grown in Canada was developed in the southern United States and is adapted to a warmer climate.
