This archive report was first published on 20 May 2020.
On May 20, 2020, the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) announced a potato seed propagation project to benefit six counties in Kenya.
The project aims to increase the acreage under potatoes in these counties by providing 25 tons of potato seed for planting to produce certified seeds.
The certified seeds will be distributed to local farmers through farmer Common Interest Groups (CIGs), who will produce the seeds and then distribute them to other farmers.
The six counties set to benefit from the project are Nyeri, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Bomet, Nyandarua, and Taita Taveta.
According to the project, the initiative is expected to add 2,500 metric tons of certified potato into the national seed supply annually in the next two years.
As part of the project, 60 agricultural personnel in the six counties have been trained on climate-smart potato production practices, with a focus on seed production and distribution.
However, the project has faced challenges in the past, as a similar project launched in Nyeri County in 2018 yielded disappointing results due to poor weather conditions.
