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