Potato Seed Crisis In Kenya May Paralyse The Industry

Potatoes are an important commodity in Kenya being the second staple food in the country. Due to lack of certified seed and high cost of production, farmers are increasingly shying away from growing potatoes.

Although Kenya currently stands at the eighth position in potato production in Africa with 0.8 million tons, the production is still lower than the expected capability. Egypt for instance produces 2.6 million tons credited to availability of certified seeds. In Kenya, potato production stands at roughly 8tons/ha which could be increased to 22tons/ha. 

Currently, Kenya has 50 certified potato seed producers who cannot satisfy the demand for affordable clean tubers. Once the Kenya Farmer’s Association collapsed, and land meant for seed multiplication grabbed by top government officials, KARI was left as the only seed producer. 

It's centres at Tigoni, Embu and Oljoro Orok are mainly used for this purpose. The clean seed produced remains expensive and not readily available to the farmer. From statistics, Kenya requires 60,000 tons of certified seed every year but produces 600tons which is only 1%.

This forced the potato farmer to use alternative seed tubers from previous planting seasons. The quality and output declines by 65% every season farmers use this practice after the second generation a blow to the quality and quantity of the crop.

The method has also contributed largely to the spread of potato diseases like the bacterial wilt further decreasing the output. This leaves majority of farmers forgoing potato farming as losses incurred are very high. 

Farmers have also opted to import seeds from neighboring countries most of which enter the country before they are screened. This poses the danger of introducing more potato diseases in the country. The Potato Task Force brought this to the attention of the government over two years ago to find a speedy solution.

 The pace is however not as fast as is desired. Private investors have therefore come in to salvage the helpless situation. Germany Cooperation Agency for example trained extension officer who were to in turn train farmers. The officers were however moved to different offices after the training completely paralyzing the program.

If a solution is not found, the potato industry in Kenya faces serious crisis more so on food security. KARI has been mandated to take varieties being used by the farmers clean them up and multiply them in its stations. The seeds are then to be distributed to farmers through Kenya Plant Health Inspection Services (KEPHIS).

By Shalom Kamau

Potato Farming In Kenya

High altitude areas are more favorable for potato planting

Since the introduction of the potato in East Africa by the British colonial officers, the potato has been widely used as food crop in Kenya. This had resulted to the crop rising to the second staple food in the country after maize. 

Central province produces most of the potato in Kenya with the crop being cultivated in most part of the region. Meru districts around the slopes of Mt. Kenya, Dundora, Mau Narok, and Molo are also potato planting regions in the Eastern and Rift Valley provinces. The regions are most favorable for potato planting since they are high altitude areas which means that the soil is naturally slightly acid and moist as is required for potato planting. 

Kenya, in the 1990s, was the fifth largest potato producer in Sub Saharan Africa. The average production margin was reported as 7.7ton/ha at the time. Until 2008, the production rate had increased to an impressive 9.5ton/ha. This was short lived due to the many constrains facing potato farming which saw the production rate drop to 7.7ton/ha which is lower than the production rate in the 1990s.

This drop is attributed to among others, lack of certified seeds, declining soil fertility, climate change, high input costs, pests and diseases, marketing constrains and cropping calendar.  

Majority of potato farmers are small scale farmers cultivating plots of around 108,000 ha by 500,000 small scale farmers which produces over 1million tonnes in the two growing seasons. This is however below the expected production rate, were the growing conditions improved. 

Small scale farmers depend on the crop for both home consumption and as a trade commodity. It is through growing potatoes that they have been able to feed their families and educate their children, despite the constraints involved.

Potato farming will continue to be popular among Kenyans with fast foods restaurants and potato processors increasingly raising the demand for a healthy high quality crop. Though farmers have little they can do about some of the constraints facing potato farming, they are not oblivious of the demands made by the market.

Standard Desiree Potato Seed

This has led to the government and the private sector coming together and solve the problem of lack of quality seed and fertilizers, and to ensure that they are not only locally and readily available but affordable to the farmer. Potato farmers are also advised to take their soil for profiling before the planting season to be informed on changes in their soil and how its fertility can be improved during that specific growing season. 

Potato farming, with the right pillars in place, will not only push forward the vision of food security and cushion Kenyans on the continually rising prices of cereals, but also improve the economic state of potato farmers and increase the country’s GDP significantly.

By Shalom Kamau

Tweeting Potato Farmers

The first time we hear about tweeting potato farmers, we all raise an eyebrow and wonder how farmers can tweet; in fact we also wonder why farmers in the rurals engage in this techsavvy affair which is mainly for socializing in the urban.

 Knowing Kenya the way we do, the probable imagine, in our minds likely revolves around an elderly man in his soiled clothes and gumboots, probably holding his jembe on one hand, walking into a cyber café and asking the attender to assist him make his tweet.

Which begs the question: what for?

Stephen kimiri, CEO Zevan enterprises and founder of SOKOSHAMBANI initiative looks at tweeting as the channel to address one of the global challenges facing smallholder farmers.

 How has he done this you might ask?

The visionary youth started the SOKOSHAMBANI initiative that allows small holder famers to be accessible to market entities looking supplies of crop commodities.  Through the application dapped SOKOSHABANI, Swahili for farm-market, farmers now have a platform where they have the upper hand in selling their crop.

 Still vague? Let me explain.

Through the three steps subscription process potato farmers are instantaneously linked to the most efficient and profitable potato market standing at a staggering 65% of the entire market, namely, fast food industry. By sending short messages (SMA), the farmers are mapped and matched with proximal and maximal markets.

STEP 1: send an SMS with the word START to the short code 8988. STEP 2: send your location and name in one word e.g NairobijaneDoe. STEP 3: send am SMS with the word “Follow @viazinorthrift”. And just that you know, market entities (fast food restaurants) follow the same process to register with SOKOSHAMBANI, which gives the freedom and capacity to interact though short message services with the small holders and trade with them directly.

It is here that the demand and supply of potatoes is met by both players.

As a result of using this platform, farmers and their market have been able to register an increase in income which was previously dominated by middlemen who exploit the small holder and the fast food since there was no link between the two players.

With potatoes being the second staple food in Kenya after maize, farmed by over 800,000 farmers and earns KES. 27.6billion ($227 million), it has a huge potential of lifting the rural small scale farmer and boosting the economy of Kenya. The crop is also strategic in contributing to addressing the cyclic food insecurity and endemic poverty. The crop is looked at as one of the channels of addressing the resilience of farmers to climate shocks and mitigates the impact of other adversities in rural areas.

As a result of its innovative model, SOKOSHAMBANI has attracted various partnerships and donors among them USAID and EUROPLANT though whose partnership small holder farmers will access high-yield, certified, clean seeds and their inputs. SOKOSHAMBANI has a SMS mobile based extension (mEXTENTION)

Agriculture based technologies like SOKOSHAMBANI are bound to impact agriculture in Africa tremendously, as in, in Asia and Latin America. This is achievable due to high rate at which the use of mobile phone is growing in Africa; currently estimated at 70%. The mobile phone has enabled channel creation through which resources are trickled down to the people at the base of the pyramid (BoP), where economic empowerment is direly required.

For more information on SOKOSHAMABI visit us at http//:www.mfarmerkenya.org

By Shalom Kamau