News on The Potato Supply Chain from Africa

Plans by Kenya to import Irish potatoes from the Netherlands have got agricultural experts worried, with some warning that it could bring a more virulent form of late blight to the region.

Some 300 Irish potato farmers in Cameroon received 30 tonnes of quality Irish potato seeds and farm inputs to improve production and productivity.

Sack potato farming continues to make headway in Zimbabwe.

Kenyan potato factory Midlands limited not only adds value at the processing level but also from the farm gate. It provides land in case one has none, cultivates and offers advisory services during planting, dressing and harvesting

The private sector has been urged to invest in Rwanda's Irish potato production so as to address the shortage and help prevent price fluctuations.

A revolutionarised way of growing potatoes in sacks is set to significantly transform the lives of women and the youth from Harare South in Zimbabwe who have embraced this method in a big way.

Under a bilateral deal with lead potato seed producer the Netherlands, the government has cleared four new potato seed varieties for use by local farmers.

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.

Dessie Zuria is one of the most critically food insecure districts in Ethiopia. High altitude forced farmers to grow a single staple – barley. However, the previously unknown potato is helping to transform the lives of thousands of the poorest farmers.

Potato in Kenya is an important food crop, second to maize. In 2011 the Dutch and Kenyan government agreed to support an initiative to support seed potato development in Kenya in order to increase yields and enhance food security.

Farmers in the Kigezi sub-region will benefit from a Uganda Development Bank initiative that seeks to add value to their potatoes before they are put on the market.

During a recent meeting of governors and county representatives from 14 counties in Nakuru (Kenya) on irish potato production, packaging and marketing, it was resolved that from January 2014, farmers should pack their produce in not more than 50kg bags.

Potatoes supply more calories than grain, many vitamins and minerals and are an important source of income for the growers in the rural areas of West Africa. Therefore the German development assistance initiates production of potatoes in areas of famine.

The horticulture industry of Zimbabwe is calling for higher import tariffs on imported horticulture products to avert the collapse of the local industry.

Dewulf, specialist in harvesting technology of potatoes and carrots, introduced its first potato harvester in South-Africa earlier this year.

South Africa and the European Union (EU) are headed for another bruising dispute over trade access. At issue this time around are frozen potato chips (frozen french fries) from the EU.

Scientists in Uganda will soon start confined trials of genetically modified strains of Irish potato designed to be resistant to Phytophthora infestans, the fungus that causes potato blight, now devastating the crop in the west of the country.

Semagn-Asredie Kolech, a Cornell doctoral candidate in the field of horticulture, studies the potato and bridges the tradition of Ethiopian farming with the modernity of agricultural science.