Source: weekly potato prices in major towns

Seed potato industry has grown progressively from about 7 seed potato producers in 2013 to 28 in 2021. The production of certified seed potato has also increase drastically in the resent past with more farmers accessing quality seeds. This has been accelerated by the use of Viazi soko digital platform in creating awareness, seed booking, ordering and delivering. Seeds are ordered and delivered to their respective pick-up points from where they are collected by farmers. Currently there are 8 seed potato producers using the platform to market their seeds.

This year’s short rainy season (Oct-Dec 2021), demand for seed potato has dropped radically and most seed producers were not able to sell their seeds. Some of the factors attributing to this were the low ware potato market prices recently experienced in the country. The prices were ranging from ksh 300 for 70kg bag in some places forcing most farmers to hold their potato from selling thus delaying their next planting season. This may have also discouraged some farmers from buying quality seed potato this season.