For long, Nyandarua County has been known as a major Irish potato producer in the country. 

However, during his June 1, 2025, Madaraka Day speech, Governor Moses Kiarie Badilisha urged farmers in the county to diversify their agricultural activities, saying the future of their traditional cash crop – the Irish potato — is not guaranteed due to unpredictable weather patterns caused by climate change. 

“Due to climate change, farmers have been counting losses as frost has been wiping out their Irish potato crops across the county,” he said. 

Residents of the semi-arid lower Ndaragwa area in the county are already ahead of the pack—they have abandoned Irish potatoes and are now growing a drought-resistant sweet potato variety. 

  Last week, residents of Murichu location gathered at the home of Hanna Wambui Kariuki to witness the first harvest of the sweet potato variety that is resilient to the adverse weather of this semi-arid area. 

 Wambui planted the sweet potato after her son, Kimone Kimone, brought seedlings home late last year. Kimone got the sweet potato variety after finding it doing well in the dry and hot weather of Turkana. 

Kimone grew up seeing the struggle his parents went through trying to feed them when the area went for even three seasons without harvest. 

According to Kimone, malnutrition has been a common sight among the children, as some go to school on an empty stomach. 

It is that experience that made Kimone think about how to change the farming behaviour of the local people, particularly his Forest Line village in Murichu location – an area known for relying on relief food most of the year and bursaries to educate the children. 

An assistant chief, Gakuo Muchai, termed the introduction of the new variety of sweet potatoes as a game changer for residents, saying they will now be able to feed their children and the elderly from their farms instead of relying on buying food from shops.