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COMPETITION: Big companies face stiff competition in their businesses as the government licences small-scale farmer groups to produce certified potato seeds.

In the last year, the government through Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (Kephis) has licenced 25 small-scale seed merchants and growers in counties of Nyandarua, Nakuru, Taita Taveta, Narok and Meru.

“We currently have 3,200 farmers growing Irish potatoes in the county. We have been able to form apex organisation in the county – the Taita Taveta potato growers association and for the first time in the history we are not sourcing the seeds from outside the county but from our farmers,” said Davis Mwangoma, Taita Taveta county Executive in charge of Agriculture.

Simon Maina, Kephis head of seed certification and plant variety protection confirmed that his organisation licenced Mbangamboi Self-Help Group in Taita Taveta County to produce certified potato seeds to meet the increasing demand.  “The licensing of the small groups follows high demand of the certified seeds in the country. We have 23 local varieties and 69 international varieties,” he said.

Inadequate rainfall

Mbangamboi self-help group is one of the 80 common interest groups that form the Taita Taveta Potato farmers’ cooperative society. “In the first season of 2021 we planted 12 bags of ‘Shangi’ variety producing 70 bags earning Sh154,000 but the proceeds dropped to Sh54, 000 in the second season owing to inadequate rainfall after producing 29 bags,” Martha Mwakina, the secretary of the farmers the group said.

Ministry of Agriculture said the certified seed production is currently less than two per cent of the national demand. Value chains predict a shift in the production of safe potato seeds with smallholder farmers standing to benefit the most from a 30 per cent reduction in the cost of production.