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