The National Potato Council of Kenya participated in the 9th Africa Agri Expo held on 11–12 February 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. The event brought together agribusiness leaders, policymakers, researchers, investors, and development partners from across Africa.

NPCK Consultant Wachira Kaguongo delivered a presentation titled “The Future is Rooted in Potato: Building on Today’s Strength for Tomorrow’s Growth,” highlighting the role of potatoes in strengthening food security, improving rural livelihoods, and driving agribusiness growth in Africa.

The Growing Importance of Potatoes

Globally, potatoes are consumed daily by more than one billion people and remain the most important non-grain food crop. In Kenya, potatoes are the second most important food crop after maize, with approximately 2.3 million tonnes produced annually on roughly 240,000 hectares, a crop valued at approximately KSh 61 billion. Potatoes are increasingly recognised as a climate-resilient crop due to their high productivity per unit of land, water, and time.

NPCK’s Role in Strengthening the Potato Value Chain

At the expo, NPCK highlighted its role as a multi-stakeholder platform bridging the public and private sectors. Over the past 15 years, NPCK has reached more than 400,000 farmers through capacity-building initiatives, demonstration farms, and field days promoting good agricultural practices and climate-smart technologies.

NPCK has also supported digital extension through the Viazisoko platform, facilitated access to certified seed through coordinated seed logistics, and strengthened market structures through farmer organisations, contract farming models, and aggregation systems.