Tolsma-Grisnich Group constructs modern seed potato storage in Kenya

The recently published LEI/WUR report ‘The value chain for seed and ware potatoes in Kenya’ emphasises the importance of conditioned storage for the continuous availability of certified seed potatoes.

At the Kisima Farm near Nanyuki in Kenya and situated at an altitude of 2,500 metres, a new seed potato store with a capacity of 1000 tonnes has been constructed. Kisima is a large scale arable farm with floriculture operation and seed potato production. The farm is scaling up the field-multiplication of seed potatoes to 100 ha per year with an estimated output of 2000 tons of seed potatoes per year.

Tolsma Storage Technology from the Netherlands will supply the equipment for the 1000 tons seed potato store at Kisima Farm and will install 2 Quadro Compact Coolers. With the Quadro Compact Coolers, Kisima will be able to ventilate the potatoes and to adjust the temperature in the store. This new generation of coolers consists of sustainable machines and is very popular because of its quiet and energy efficient operation. The Quadro Compact Coolers are robustly designed and, being plug and play products, they are ideal for sea transport and application in Kenya.

At the Kisima farm the seed potatoes are stored in slatted wooden boxes that hold 1.2 tonnes each. The Vision Climate Control computer regulates the temperature, air circulation and humidity in the store. The computer can be operated and values can be monitored via the internet. In this way, in consultation with the Kenyan farmers, storage quality can be guaranteed from the head office in the Netherlands, with all the necessary knowledge about potato storage at hand. The storage building at Kisima farm has been constructed and the climate control system has been installed.

The conditioned storage of certified seed potatoes should be operational towards the end of 2013.