Superior potato vines promise huge returns to farmers

By Julius Omondi

More than 60,000 farmers in Nyanza and Western region are set to receive superior sweet potato vines.

The vines have the ability to produce higher yields within small land portions. It is expected that the new breed will assist farmers break away from over reliance on maize.

In a place where farmland is predominantly limited, yield within a small portion of land counts. An eighth of an acre is capable of producing some 500 kilos of the new sweet potato compared to maize that only yields 100 kilos in the same area.      

Poor yields

The project championed by One Acre Fund, a NGO working with farmers, is geared at enhancing food security and diversification of crops among farmers.

 The deal will boost food security in an area that has traditionally recorded poor yields. This has been due to over reliance on low quality cereals and infertile soils blamed on long use of chemicals and synthetic fertilisers.

 “Sweet potato is emerging as an important food security crop. In sub-Saharan Africa, the sweet potato growth is outpacing the growth of other staple crops,” said Nicholas Daniels a communication officer with One acre Fund. “They are drought-tolerant and contain more calories per unit than maize or Irish potato plus higher protein content than cassava.”

Most farmers in western Kenya rely heavily on maize which has since served as their staple crop for decades. This, coupled with poor farming techniques like over tillage has dwindled yields threatening thousands of livelihoods.

 “One Acre Fund wants to enable farmers to diversify crops they cultivate, primarily not only  for food security and nutrition, but also for commercial reasons. Sweet potato is the best-suited crop for diversification in this area,” observed Daniels.

The project is being initiated near Kitale on a 95,000 acres piece of land, which was leased from a large-scale commercial farmer for the multiplication of the vines.

Daniels also noted that the improved high-yielding varieties, sourced from the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari), will guarantee better produce to the farmers.

The multiplication site is intended to benefit over 60,000 farmers in the region. Although the project wants ensure food security among the families in the region, experts are pushing for the commercialisation of the surplus. This is as market for the sweet potato rise daily across the country and regionally.

Crop commercialisation

According to a survey released last year by Usaid and the ministry of Agriculture, more than 20 per cent of sweet potato farmers are commercialising their crops. They  sell sweet potatoes directly to the markets to meet the increasing demand across East Africa.

“We expect the produce to largely be consumed by the farmers and their families, although strong markets for sale of sweet potatoes exist across Western and Nyanza. Ultimately the decision on whether or not to sell is with the farmers,” stated Daniels.

 The Fund, which has farmers, enrolled through their various village groups operates in various counties of Western and Nyanza including Kakamega, Busia, Siaya, Homabay Kisii among others.

 The groups consists of between 15-30 members. One can enroll after payment of Sh200.The Fund intends to distribute the vines to the registered farmers through village groups freely.

More than  60,000 farmers are projected to benefit from this before the end of the year.

Sweet potato the third most widely consumed food after maize and irish potatoes. But it is considered one of the “orphaned” crops, along with cassava, amaranth and millet.

Because of the relative lack of research and promotion it has been accorded, compared to crops like maize and rice.                                                                             —FarmBiz Africa