News on Potato Cultivation from Kenya

Kenya will host the 13th World Potato Congress in October/November 2026, following a venue change from Poland. Led by NPCK and supported by key partners, the event aims to spotlight potatoes' role in food security and economic growth.

Potato farmers have urged the government to put more effort into producing certified seed. They have said what is available in the market is costly and inaccessible to most small-scale farmers.

Solynta's potato varieties with high resistances against Late Blight provide Kenyan farmers with good yields, as demonstrated in a comparative field test during an extensive spray/no spray trial in Limuru, Kenya.

The variety release committee of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) has recently announced that three of Solynta’s hybrid true potato varieties have been approved for distribution in Kenya.

Bayer and Solynta have reached an agreement to collaborate on the commercialization and distribution of true potato seeds in Kenya and India.

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

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.

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.

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.

Agrico PSA is proud to communicate another impressive milestone reached: now over 50,000 Kenyan potato farmers are digitally partnering via their Facebook page! PSA’s Facebook page has evolved into a platform where potato knowledge is shared.

Free smartphone app Nuru helps African potato farmers to detect late blight (Phytophthora) and early blight (Alternaria) since 2021

With potato production in East Africa under increasing threat from the invasive and highly destructive potato cyst nematode (PCN) pest, an organic technology developed from banana plant waste material may well be the ultimate rescue.

Viazi (potatoes in Kiswahili) are grown in Kenya since the 19th century. The production and consumption of the potato have grown steadily since.

The partnership targets to introduce new technologies and train smallholder farmers on how to improve potato yields through the use of quality seeds, resilient varieties, disease management and post-harvest management.

In Kenya, potatoes are a key staple food, second only to maize. Yet its potato value chain has been underdeveloped for decades also. This has been acknowledged by the Kenyan government.