Egerton University is partnering with the National Potato Council of Kenya (NPCK) and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) in a bid to ensure sustainable potato production in the country.
In July 2024, the three institutions joined forces to launch a three-year project called the Kenya Sustainable Potato Initiative (KSPI), aimed at promoting sustainable potato production through adopting climate-smart potato farming practices. The goal is to improve yields and profitability.
The US$1.5 million project’s main objective is to increase directly the productivity and earnings of 150,000 potato farmers while creating employment opportunities for more than 4,000 youth. The project will also benefit another 300,000 farmers indirectly through value-chain addition.
Of the 150,000 farmers targeted, 40% are expected to be women and another 10% will represent the youth.
Access to markets, fair prices
KSPI targets the four largest potato production counties in the country – Nyandarua, Meru, Laikipia and Nandi, where it intends to strengthen 400 potato farmer groups’ spread across these counties by providing them with structured marketing systems. It will help digitise the groups, provide them with farm inputs, give them access to markets and enable them to get fair prices for their produce.
“Potato is the second-most consumed food in the country after maize, making it a key factor in the country’s diet and economy,” said agronomist Professor Anthony Kibe, who leads Egerton University’s role in the KSPI project.
It is both a staple food and cash crop, grown by more than 800,000 farmers across the country and employing more than two million people in the process. It contributes more than KES50 billion (about US$385 million) to the country’s economy.
“Kenya is currently producing only nine tons of potatoes a year in comparison with countries like Egypt, which produces up to 40 tons. This is nowhere close to meeting the potato demand in the country,” Kibe told University World News.
Solving policy issues
Built on an agricultural foundation, Egerton University’s main goal is to solve all micro- and macroeconomic policy issues bearing on farming, transportation, processing, marketing and trade of agricultural products and inputs; commercialisation, income growth and food security; and ensure sustainable agricultural systems, natural resources, and environments.
According to Kibe, Kenya has the potential to produce up to 30 tons of potato per year, but is limited by factors including:
• Low seed quality: only 5% of farmers in Kenya have access to certified potato seeds. Most farmers rely on the historical seeds which have been recycled many times and have lost their potential.
• A lack of access to farm inputs such as fertiliser.
• Poor management of pests and diseases.
• Insufficient rainfall for potato growing – countries like Egypt have invested heavily in irrigation.
• A lack of research in potato farming; and
• Carrying a lower priority than maize production.
Agronomic practices revitalised
Due to poor agronomic practices, potato production has stalled over the past decade so Kenya cannot compete with regional potato producers such as South Africa and Egypt, Kibe said.
Through KSPI, Egerton University intends to ensure that 190 students and youths are integrated into the value-chain process in which they can gain experiential learning. The project will also help train village-based advisers on climate-smart potato production technologies, innovation and management practices, and ways to reduce post-harvest losses by 50%. Kibe explained that farmers will be trained to produce potatoes; mechanising methods and climate-smart technologies such as reusable energy.
According to Professor John Nderitu, chairman of the NPCK board and representing private research and professionals in the potato industry, access to certified seed is the main problem facing potato farmers in the country, FarmKenyareported. The intention is to increase seed production from the current 900 metric tons to up to three times that amount over the next three years.
NPCK intends to help build a strong and efficient potato seed production system that enhances farmers’ access to high-quality seed of appropriate varieties. It will also promote inclusivity by ensuring equal opportunities to markets, trade opportunities and access to financial services for smallholder potato farmers.
Student opportunities
“Potato is finally getting the recognition it deserves, emerging as a strategic crop with the potential to help meet some of the set goals in Vision 2030. The project’s goals are also aligned with the government’s bottom-up economy strategy whereby it strives to raise the income level of small-scale farmers and create jobs for thousands of youths,” Kibe added. “KSPI will also provide our students with attachment and internship opportunities where they can get first-hand experience in potato production and management.
The project will end in June 2027.
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