Scottish producers target Sh6 billion Kenyan seed potato market in deal

Kenyan farms are set to get a makeover through potato seed straight from Scotland farmers eyeing the seed potatoes market estimated at £50million (Ksh 6.2billion). This is in the wake of a new deal reported by Scottish media that the government had signed a bilateral agreement with Kenyan authorities. Kenya, through its agricultural research units like the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari), has been working on programmes to provide reliable seed sources and to help farmers stop the heavy reliance on farm-saved seed potatoes as planting material, which results in frequent reinfection of fields. Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia are among the 10 African countries with the largest area under potato. The crop is a source of both food and cash income. Rural Economy secretary Fergus Ewing was quoted as saying the agreement represents recognition of Scotland’s “high-health status and world wide reputation for producing high-quality seed potatoes”. More