- The average potato yield in Sub-Saharan Africa stands at 7.8 tonnes per hectare.
- This is too low compared with India at 23.7 metric tonnes per hectare and a global average of about 21 tonnes.
- Whereas many African countries with vast agricultural potential import the crop, Egypt is an exception.
With the exception of Egypt and South Africa, the continent is a net importer of common food crops including potatoes despite the huge potential of many countries to grow the tuber that can tackle Africa’s food crisis.
Grown in over 125 countries and consumed by at least a billion people every day, potatoes are arguably one of the world’s most important root crops.
According to FAO, the average potato yield in Sub-Saharan Africa stands at 7.8 tonnes per hectare. This is too low compared with India at 23.7 metric tonnes per hectare and a global average of about 21 tonnes. Data shows that some farmers in Europe and North America harvest over 40 tonnes per hectare.
With such huge gap, and a market of over 1.2 billion people, there exists a huge potential for developing countries, especially in Africa, to commercialize the production of potatoes and potato products.
To start with, potato crop grows fast, allowing two to three harvests per year. A number of varieties exist, offering millions of farmers a choice on what to grow. For this reason, potatoes can be the go to horticultural crop driving incomes of smallholder producers. It is in backdrop of these reasons that potato can play hero role in Africa’s food security crisis.
Whereas many African countries with vast agricultural potential import the crop, Egypt is an exception. As of the end of 2022, the country exported record 17,000 tonnes of potatoes to Southeast Asia. Data shows the northern Africa’s potato exports last year exceeded those of 2021 by 120 percent in volume.
Available for a considerably low price, potatoes are rich foods, providing a blend of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals in one. The high-yielding root tuber, which grows to maturity between 90 and120 days, is both a meal and an income source for millions of the the poorest families.
Poor man’s answer to nutrition and income
Potato crop has found itself on the list of food solutions in the One World–No Hunger Initiative. Potato cultivation in Africa is considered the answer to producing high yields in small areas of land and at relatively low cost. According to the One World-No Hunger Initiative, potatoes are effectively poor man’s answer to nutrition and income.
However, a myriad of reasons keeps African countries from tapping this enormous market. At the basic level, shortage of quality seeds and poor post-harvest management practices bedevil the sector. Further, price swings and lack of a supportive policy framework leaves farmers counting losses, too.
However, things get complicated when you come to price-setting strategies and facilitating conditions necessary to promote smallholder farmers’ participation. What more, constraints that impede potato production and development of the horticulture sector as a whole cripples the business.
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Some efforts are underway to increase production of the crop. Globally, the International Potato Centre (Centro Internacional de la Papa, CIP), has established demonstration plots with innovative farming practices. Here, advisors and farmers learn about varieties, improved crop rotation, potato diseases control and crop protection. Furthermore, the project coaches smallholder seed producers on modern seed propagation methods in collaboration with the CIP. This initiatives aims at improving the quality of seeds.
Contact specialists for certified seeds
In Africa, some country specific programmes are promising to turn around the sector too. In Kenya, the National Potato Council of Kenya (NPCK), a Public-Private Partnership is working to improve the crop’s value chain. NPCK is transforming the subsector by drawing synergies from a wide range of players in the business.
For example, to boost marketing, NPCK has established a digital platform, Viazisoko (potato market). Viazisoko is a web-based portal available on smartphones and also on feature phones via USSD.
Farmers, who use the platform have access to farm inputs and services right on their mobile phones. They can access information on and contact specialists for certified seeds. Additionally, farmers can seek potato-specific fertilizer, and approved agrochemicals. A variety of spray services, soil testing, and mechanization services are also provided.
Further, through the USSD service, Kenyan farmers can receive instant responses on availability of seeds. Equally, they can get information on markets, place orders for seeds, and even get weather forecasts and extension services.
Read also: KFC gets Kenyans angry over decision to not source potatoes locally
Across the border in Kampala, the Uganda Potato Platform Limited (UPP Ltd) is gradually turning potato subsector into a profitable industry.
Promoting sharing of experiences and knowledge
In Uganda, the UPP plans to increase potato production and the sector’s profitability in general. Since the farmers face similar limitations to the Kenyan farmers, the two bodies benefit from each other’s synergy in improving post-harvest management and developing marketing strategies.
An international working group is promoting the sharing of experiences and knowledge and the transfer of technology. Already, its is working with partners from Cameroon, India, Mali, Nigeria, and Tunisia.
In Tanzania, the government has entered into a pact with the Netherlands to implement a potato value chain roadmap. The two countries are establishing what Tanzania’s Agriculture minister described as “a vibrant and robust potato ecosystem for sustainable development.”
Tanzania’s Minister for Agriculture, Mr Hussein Bashe said the horticulture sector in Tanzania is underperforming. “We would like to see the potato sub-sector improve productivity. We would like to move from importing potatoes to exporting them,” he said at a recent workshop.
“It is the commitment of the government to engage our partners from the private sector in seed multiplication because the government cannot do it alone,” the minister explained.
At the moment, Tanzania is inviting foreign investors into the horticulture sector seeking to develop its potato production value chain. So far, the Netherlands has shown interest in both potato value chains as well as avocadoes.
Post-harvest management and transportation
Stakeholders across Tanzania have however been citing logistics in post-harvest management and transportation. In this regard, the Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) plays a significant role to support the sector’s development.
TAHA works to increase access to market information as well as enables the adoption of appropriate technologies. It also advocates for the establishment of an enabling business environment in the sector. At optimum capacity, TAHA says Tanzania’s horticulture has the potential of earning up to $3 billion per year.
Massive achievements have been accrued so far including increases in yields of fruits and vegetables by 200 – 300 percent, an increase in export earnings from $64 million in 2004 to over $779 million in 2019 said TAHA CEO Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi.
