News on Potato Varieties and Seed from Africa

Potato cultivation has seen tremendous success in Sudan when productivity in some areas reached 28 tons an acre, like in the Alarqam Project of Western Omdurman here. The Meroe Dam Project (in Northern Sudan) has produced 20 tons per acre.

As a food security crop and cash crop, potato is a source of income for farmers, traders and sellers. In Kenya alone, potato creates employment for 2.5 million people along the value chain amounting to an estimated annual worth of USD 480 million.

Kenya has applied for a Sh656 million grant from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to boost research on potato seed production and cut reliance on imports.

Imagine being a potato farmer in Ethiopia, Kenya, or Nigeria. On a small piece of land, which you depend on for food and income, you have spent months planting, weeding, and watering.

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

A Rwandan entrepreneur is pioneering the use of innovative farming technology that, he believes, is set to play a major role in feeding the growing population in his country, amid increasing pressure on arable land.

The Wageningen Research Foundation (WR), being subsidised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the context of the Policy Support 'Sustainable agricultural development in a food system approach' published a study on the potato value chain in Morocco.

A first pilot using True Potato Seed (TPS) in Angonia District, Tete province in Mozambique, conducted by Solidaridad and Solynta shows great potential to drastically improve and innovate potato production in Mozambique.

The government of Zimbabwe, in conjunction with Kutsaga Research Station has embarked on a seed potato multiplication programme from mini-tuber to commercial seed potato.

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.

Addressing seed shortages for potato is a perennial challenge in many potato-producing countries. Potato seed systems rely on several successive generations of bulking seed tubers to produce commercial seed.

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.

The Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) has started testing True Potato Seeds, which are produced by Solynta, a Dutch firm that develops hybrid potatoes. True Potato Seeds are collected from the berries or fruits of the potato plant.

A trade delegation including Western Australian (WA) potato industry leaders toured Egypt in November, confirming the potential to export at least 10,000 tonnes of seed potatoes.

Rwanda needs about 35,000 tons of quality potato seeds to cover 25 percent of total cultivated land in each growing season. The targeted quantity to fill the existing gap is 60 percent despite persisting challenges.

During his presentation at the official opening of the 11th African Potato Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, World Potato Congress President Romain Cools announced the continuous effort of his organization to be a partner of the African potato sector.

Potato organizations on Monday called for deliberate efforts to increase potato and sweet potatoes production for sustainable nutritious food systems in Africa.

In an effort to combat diseases which have been hampering potato yields for the past two years in Dedza, International Potato Centre (CIP) recently handed over disease resistant Irish potato seeds to ten farmers in the district.