Dr. Peter VanderZaag, President of the World Potato Congress, was in Kenya this month to participate in the official launch of the logistics and planning for the 13th World Potato Congress -2026.

The session opened with welcoming remarks from the Chair of the WPC Kenya Planning Committee and NPCK CEO, Mr. Wachira Kaguongo, alongside the Committee Vice-Chair and CEO of FreshCrop Ltd., Mr. Chris Gasperi. In his keynote remarks, Dr. VanderZaag expressed strong confidence in Kenya’s preparations and reaffirmed the global importance of WPC 2026, which will be the first time the Congress is hosted in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Committee heads representing the key workstreams — including finance, programs, marketing, social events, and technical tours — provided updates on ongoing plans and shared next steps as the road to October 2026 continues to take shape.

Group photo with President, adorned with welcome gifts, taken at the NPCK Headquarters during the launch of logistics for the 13th World Potato Congress (WPC 2026):

The event was followed by a site visit by the WPC President and the organizing committees to Sawela Lodges and Convention Centre, which will be the main venue for the 2026 Congress sessions and exhibition.

This milestone visit and event attracted key partners from across the potato value chain and received extensive media coverage from Citizen TV, The Standard, Seeds of Gold, Hortinews, Kilimo News, and others.  The press engagement offered a platform to highlight Kenya’s role in convening more than 1,000 delegates from over 60 countries for the Congress to be held in Naivasha.