Potato News from Africa

There are concerns among some economists that the price of frozen potatoes may increase, adding to already high food inflation in South Africa.

World Potato Congress Inc. has announced that World Potato Congress 2026 will be held in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme for the event is 'Developing Global Potato Partnerships for Enhanced Food Systems, Food Security and International Trade'.

This year is marked by strong demand and insufficient supply of potatoes, a situation that professionals of the industry and media go so far as to call 'the global potato shortage'.

Este año se ha caracterizado por cambios en el clima mundial que han trastocado las producción de patatas y provocado alteraciones en los canales de aprovisionamiento.

McCain Foods Limited, one of South Africa’s leading frozen food manufacturers, has officially opened its Farm of the Future Africa in Lichtenburg, North West, the second of three locations planned by 2025.

FPS Food Process Solutions , a global leader in turn-key freezing and cooling equipment, opens a new Middle East/Africa (MEA) office in the port facility of Tanger Med, Morocco.

By the end of 2022, Egypt exported a record volume of potatoes to the countries of Southeast Asia, EastFruit reports. Indonesia remained the main destination for their supply, and exports more than doubled last year.

The potato value chain has been the main pain point for Kenyan farmers for decades now. After a bumper harvest, thousands of tonnes go to waste. And this is where Wedgehut Foods carved a niche.

It may be recalled how shocked Kenyans were when reports began filtering in the media last year January 2022 that the multinational food giant KFC has run out of ‘fries’ for customers following the non-delivery of potatoes from their overseas suppliers.

El obtentor de patatas y exportador de semillas holandés HZPC ha completado un ensayo de salinidad en Egipto con la cosecha organizada a finales de enero.

Solynta and PepsiCo’s Ethiopia-based Foods Unit, Senselet Food Processing PLC (Senselet), have launched a project to introduce hybrid true potato seeds (HTPS) to Ethiopia.

Elder Isaiah Buwah is growing potatoes for forty years in the Plateau State, North Central Nigeria. Having seen the impact from late blight first hand, he truly enjoyed the harvest of the first batch of - resistant - biotech potatoes.

For the first time, food and agriculture systems have taken center stage in the global climate negotiations. COP27 has advanced the global recognition of food and agriculture as both a climate culprit and solution.

The Zimbabwe Potato Micro-propagation Association (ZPMA) has spearheaded the resuscitation of seed potato production since this stalled around 2008. The current mandate is to substitute imported seed potato.

A capacity-building initiative that started in Kenya to fill gaps in the supply of high-quality early generation seed (EGS) is now spreading across Asia and many African countries

PepsiCo is finalising an investment proposal of approximately USD 40 million (ETB 2 billion) to expand its Senselet snacks business in Ethiopia, and is considering the possibility of further investments in the country.

South African seed potato producer RegenZ and European hybrid potato seed innovator Solynta announced a partnership to bring hybrid true potatoes to the South African farming community.

Richard Mbaria makes a point at his potato in Kapsita village of Nakuru County, Kenya. The farmer has increased his production per acre thanks to training by a CARP+ project implemented in the area by Egerton University.