In January 2022, Kenyans were shocked when multinational food giant KFC announced that it had run out of ‘chips’ for customers. This followed the non-delivery of potatoes from their overseas suppliers.
That potatoes for consumption by Kenyans had to be imported became a huge concern for Kenyans, coming on the back of cries by Kenyan potato farmers, especially in the potato-glut zone of Nyandarua, over lack of market for their produce.
Since then, market players led by Co-op Bank have been working to ensure that local potato farmers are supplying all possible markets including international businesses such as KFC.
This has given birth to a project dubbed the ‘Potato Consortium’ that is bringing together expertise to ensure the value chain right from quality of the seed to the farmer financing and eventually to the food plate is consistent with the highest quality standards.
To kick start this program, Co-operative Bank and their partners have entered into a memorandum of understanding. Among those who signed their commitment included Nyandarua County Governor Kiarie Badilisha, Co-operative Bank Head of Agriculture Business Esther Kariuki, Agrico’s Corien Herweijer, Bayer East Africa’s Eunice Waithaka, Simplifine Ltd’s Steven Carlyon, and Yara East Africa’s Carol Mumo.
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“The partners within the consortium have developed modular solutions that will help farmers increase potato yields through the use of appropriate input packages,” said Co-op Bank. These solutions will include Yara crop nutrition and soil testing solutions, Agrico PSA- provision seed varieties that are high yielding and appropriate for various uses, and Bayer crop protection solutions.
“Co-op Bank will provide capacity-building support to the county Government and Co-operative Societies to enable them to form and run strong, efficient and well-governed potato Co-operatives,” said Co-op Bank.
“The bank will also provide affordable financing options for the farmers to ensure timely access to quality inputs, water, mechanization and post-harvest solutions.”
In addition, Simplifine will provide market access for the financed farmers by buying their produce. The backbone of this will be capacity building on good agronomical practices, financial literacy, contractual literacy with agronomy support provided to assist farmers farm correctly.
“The end result of this is higher yields experienced by farmers, creating sustainable incomes for the farmers,” said Co-op Bank.
Potato plays a key role and is among the top 5 important crops in Kenya, with approximately 450,000 acres of potato are planted per year.
The average productivity from studies conducted is 3 tons per acre, making it a loss-making venture for farmers; industries within the potato value chain have growth limitations.
However, with the joint efforts of the consortium, the productivity can improve to approximately 14 ton per acre, with this contributing to food security and through consistent supply of potato, industries can grow
The program will start with 4 counties in the first half of 2023. These counties include Nyandarua, Nakuru, Elgeyo Marakwet and Nyeri.
“It is our desire that by 2026, this partnership will benefit 30,000 potato farmers in Kenya, improving yields by 50 per cent and reducing post-harvest losses by at least 50 per cent, thereby delivering prosperity for farming communities,” said Co-op Bank in a statement.
“Key gaps will be addressed including agronomy, commercial and digital knowledge, access to finance and market.”
