Kenyan Farmers to Get Drought Resistant Potato Seeds

Plans are underway to start breeding drought resistant potato varieties to curb food shortage. Players in potato farming who were meeting at Oljoro Orok Farmers Training Centre in Nyandarua West district observed that available potato varieties are only grown in the highlands. They said there is no central place where potato information can be processed and disseminated to farmers to enable them know which seeds can be planted on which soils, in which quantities and where.

Potato Council of Kenya CEO Wachira Kaguongo said the country is producing 1.1 million tonnes of potatoes in 158, 000 hectares of land, which he said is not enough to feed the growing population.

Wachira said lack of vital information is the major cause of the low yields since farmers do not get varieties which can do best in their areas and which can be stored for a long time to cushion them against poor selling prices. "As a result, only one per cent use certified seeds of potatoes while another three per cent plant positively selected seeds. The rest plant the very same potatoes they harvest,"he observed.

Wachira was speaking during the launch of a low cost potato storage project which is expected to be rolled out to more than 800,000 potato farmers countrywide.