News on Potato Cultivation from Africa

The lack of quality seed for improved varieties has been attributed to the limited capacity of seed multipliers to produce enough to meet farmer’s demands.

Yassen Abdelhay, export advisor at Arafa Group, reports on the crucial period for European factories from February to May 2023, and how Egyptian producers played a key role during this phase.

By signing the distribution agreement with Fraxen Consult Ltd, Agrico seed potatoes will be exported to small-scale farmers in Tanzania later this year.

The Genetically Modified (GM) Potato Project ongoing in Nigeria has concluded its first-year multi-locational confined trial in three locations

Zimbabwe has marked a significant agricultural milestone by achieving complete self-sufficiency in table potato production. This accomplishment is attributed to the government’s strategic foresight in recognizing the potato as a crucial crop for national food security.

Potato farming in Namibia is an important occupation for the country’s food security and economic development.

Seven years ago, Chris and Ashley Gasperi planted four acres of potatoes on their idle land in Kenya.

The International Potato Center (CIP) has collaborated with Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) to release the KC Sweet Purple variety of sweet potato in an effort to tackle ongoing climate challenges facing farmers in Kenya.

Tanzania and the Netherlands have agreed to collaborate on developing a joint roadmap for the thriving seed potato ecosystem.

Although efforts to promote the growing of potatoes in Namibia are intensifying, the production of this crop has not reached levels where imports can be reduced or stopped.

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.

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.

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

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.

More than 3,000 small-holder potatoes farmers from Nakuru are set to benefit from a KES 127 million (USD 1 million) program aimed at enhancing potato production in the County.