Taita Taveta County is among the major potato producing counties in the country and the only one in the Kenyan coast. The county covers an area of 17,083.9 km2, of which 62% or 11,100 km2, is within Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks. The remaining 5,876 km2 consists of small scale farms, ranches, sisal estates, water bodies (such as Lakes Chala and Jipe in Taveta and Mzima springs), and the hilltop forests.  

Part of the county, around Wundanyi, is a highland providing favorable climatic conditions for growing potatoes. The other advantage that the county has is its proximity to the major markets; Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu giving it  a comparative advantage over other potato producing counties.

In order to spur growth of the potato value chain in the county, the County Government of Taita Taveta, CIP and NPCK have partnered to develop the county’s potato strategy. The county potato strategy is an essential document that helps in harmonizing all the player activities, giving a clear road map on how to address the subsector challenges and constraints as well as taking advantage of existing opportunities.

The three partners are working on the strategy which is expected to be finalized by August 2021 for launch and implementation.

The strategy technical team during the recently held workshop