New Potato Improvement Project Launched in Kenya

A collaborative research project aimed at increasing potato yields and farmers' incomes by establishing systems to produce virus-free seed tubers, and demonstrating the benefits of clean seeds to farmers, has been launched in Kenya by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), University of Nairobi (UoN) and Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI), Scotland, United Kingdom. The project coordinator, Dr. Hassan Were of Masinde Muliru University of Science and Technology, said "this project will identify regions in the country suitable for seed tuber production, establish a system for virus-free seed tuber production, demonstrate the advantages of clean seed to farmers on selected farms and organize training courses to improve crop management".

Although potato is the second most important food crop in Kenya after maize with a total annual production of 1.2 million tonnes, virus diseases are a major factor limiting their production as they cause degeneration of seed potatoes over time. Kenya's average potato yields are only 5-10 t/ha compared to about 40 t/ha obtained in countries such as the United Kingdom. The Monsanto Fund has given a grant of Sterling Pounds 148,031 to the project as part of the company's corporate social responsibility to support projects aimed at uplifting livelihoods of farming communities through improved crop yields, said Mr. Kinyua M'Mbijjewe, Monsanto Africa Corporate Affairs Director, who presented the cheque to the project team during the launch in Nairobi.

For more information contact Daniel Otunge (d.otunge@cgiar.org ) of ISAAA AfriCenter or project coordinator Dr. Hassan Were (werehkde@yahoo.com)