SCRI is leading an international project to help potato farmers in Kenya.
The mission is being supported with a grant from the Monsanto Fund totalling £186,000.
Photograph of Dr Lesley Torrance and others conducting virus tests in a Kenyan potato field
The ambition is to increase potato yields - and importantly Kenyan farmer's incomes - by establishing systems to support virus-free potato seed tuber production. The potato is the second most important food crop in Kenya after maize. 1.2 million tonnes are grown every year and the potato plays an important role in food security.
The work will last for two years and will see the Dundee-based scientists working with three organisations in Kenya: the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology and the University of Nairobi.
Virus diseases are a major factor limiting potato production in Kenya. They are a major cause of degeneration in the seed potato stocks over time. This is particularly the case with viruses transmitted by aphids.
It is known that yields can be substantially improved if systems are in place to produce virus-free seed tubers for planting the main crop. However, in sub-Saharan Africa – including Kenya - the system of virus-free seed tuber production is not well developed and most farmers grow their main crop from home-saved seed which is mostly diseased.
