The national government is supporting initiatives to enable more farmers to access certified potato seeds to help increase food production to enhance food security.
Agriculture Principal Secretary Dr. Paul Rono said the government was committed through public-private partnerships to increase high quality certified potato seed by 25 per cent through rapid multiplication, increased field seed bulking as well as capacity building of commercial seed growers in the Country.
Dr. Rono disclosed that farmers were being linked to research institutions including Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Agriculture Development Corporation (ADC) and Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) to ensure they procure clean and certified planting materials.
A study done by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) has established that poor planting material is the behind diminishing potato production in Kenya.
Dr Rono indicated that the low potato yield, which is averaging 8.6 tonnes per acre was partly due to bad management practices used by farmers in the country.
He said the State was banking on a high-quality potato seed production by KALRO, ADC, Egerton University among other research institutions to increase production to supply seeds to over 12 million tonnes annually.
Speaking at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depot in Nakuru the Principal Secretary identified lack of certified seeds as the major challenge facing potato production in the country.
He regretted that many farmers were recycling their seeds leading to a drop in quality and quantity of potato production in their farms.
While disclosing that Kenya will host the International Potato Conference in 2026, whereby Nakuru County has been proposed as the venue, Dr Romo said that currently, farmers are harvesting around 10 tonnes of potatoes per hectare, but noted that this could rise to 25 tommes per hectare if there was crop rotation, use of certified seeds and right spraying.
Nakuru is the second largest producer of the crop accounting for 18.9 percent of national production.
In Nakuru there are about 20,000 farmers growing potatoes on more than 38,000 acres of land with a total production of 160,000 tons.
Nationwide, potato is grown by over 800,000 farmers spread across several counties including Bomet, Bungoma, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kericho, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Meru, Murang’a, Nakuru, Narok,Nyandarua, Nyeri, TransNzoia, Uasin-Gishu and West Pokot.
The total production ranges from 1 to 1.4 million tons worth between Shs 30 to Sh 40 billion per year. Small scale farmers account for 83 percent of the total production.
According to the National Potato Council of Kenya the Shs 50 billion worth sub sector supports 3.8 million people directly and indirectly.
By Esther Mwangi and Veronica Ngina
