REPUBLIC OF KENYA COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF NYANDARUA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR REMARKS BY H.E. DANIEL WAITHAKA MWANGI, GOVERNOR OF NYANDARUA COUNTY DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF GERMAN FOOD PARTNERSHIP-POTATO INITIATIVE AFRICA PLANNING WORKSHOP AT MASADA HOTEL ON 23RD JAUARY 2015 The CEC for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Our development partners GIZ, CIP and NPCK, Other stakeholders represented in this forum, Ladies and gentlemen, Good morning. It gives me great pleasure this morning to have joined you during this important forum to discuss issues related to the production and marketing of potatoes in our county and Kenya as a whole. Let me take this opportunity to thank you all for attending this important planning workshop and for your commitment and the good work you are doing in the potato value chain. I highly appreciate your efforts in serving farmers in Nyandarua County and the Kenya at large. Ladies and Gentlemen Nyandarua County lies along the slopes of Aberdare Mountains in the Central Kenya region and has one of the best agro-ecological zones for potato production, as it is endowed with large tracts of land and a favorable climate. The County is one of the major potato producing areas in Kenya, commanding about 33% of the national potato production with about 36,446ha of the crop cultivated annually. Potatoes in Nyandarua County support an estimated 131,697 families and generate an estimated KSh 7.3 billion annually hence potato is not just a food crop but a major cash crop in our County. Market demand for potato in urban and rural centers is growing at a high rate in line with population growth while maize production in the country decreases due to high costs and diseases. For most of the farm holdings in the county, land set aside for pasture has not been cultivated for a long period. Opening up of such land for crop production would increase the farm acreage under crops and also create room for crop rotation which is necessary for sustainable productivity. Seed Multiplication: In order to increase production and incomes, the county has taken various steps such as; • Establishment of seed bulking sites, that is, an acre in each of the five sub counties for bulking currently with Kenya Mpya and Shangi varieties. In 2014, some 155 acres were established and 24,800 bags produced. • Additional potato seed bulking is being done at the two County agricultural training centers namely, Njabini and Oljoro-Orok ATCs (20 acres achived). • 25 farmer groups- that is, each group per ward- have been assisted with generation 1 seed for bulking which will be given to other farmer groups and individuals in order to address the challenge of clean potato seed availability. Year 2015 projections on seed multiplication in the county: Nyandarua County intends to double seed multiplication through the partnerships with development agencies e.g. Syngenta, Bayer, CIP, GIZ, Murphy Chemicals and the County Government. I wish to inform this forum that Nyandarua County Potato Strategy that is developed in partnership with our development partners and potato value chain stakeholders, is complete and will be launched soon. We have also launched major campaign to enforce the packaging of potatoes in 50 kg bags as stipulated by the AFFA and Crops Acts 2013 which is also in line with International Labor Organization (ILO) requirements for which Kenya is a signatory. Currently, we are carrying out enforcements in collaboration with all potato growing counties. Trials for new varieties that give better performance in terms of yields and disease resistance are currently underway with trial sites established in collaboration with our partners at Njabini Agricultural Training centre and four other sub-counties. Despite these achievements, ladies and gentlemen, I am aware of existing challenges such as low yields, pest and diseases, over dependence on rain fed Agriculture, and poor market for our crops. Other challenges include poor road infrastructures, erratic weather conditions due climate change, fluctuating market prices and high cost of farm input, just to mention a few. My administration will ensure that farmers are trained on good agronomic practices and Integrated Pest and Disease Management (IPM) to improve on yields. I request other partners to join us in endeavor. To reduce over dependence on rain-fed Agriculture, my Government will rehabilitate existing dams and develop mega irrigation projects in the county. Infrastructure improvement is my priority intervention in our County to ensure that farmers market their produce at reduced transport costs. My government is encouraging farmers in Nyandarua County to form co-operative societies to enable them market their produce, access credit and funding. So far, 38 farmer co-operatives have been formed. I believe strongly the construction of four markets at Ndaragwa, Oleriondo, Soko Mpya and Murungaru through SmallHolder Horticulture Marketing Programme ( ShoMaP) will improve marketing of horticulture produce in this County. On potato packaging, I note with appreciation that every effort is being made by our frontline extension officers, produce inspectors and the police to ensure the new law is adhered to. However, we are concerned that a number of other potato producing counties are slightly behind in this war and potatoes continue to be sold in bags that exceed the 50 kg limit. This makes it very difficult for traders who have complied with the law to sell off their stocks in markets such as Wakulima in Nairobi and Kongowea in Mombasa and other major markets. It is my hope that the other counties will embrace the new law on potato packaging so that there is uniformity in enforcement of the law. Labour: Ladies and Gentlemen, Human labour is getting more expensive and is not even available when needed, leading to underutilization and low productivity of crop land in the county. Though some farmers are able to mechanize land preparation, the most important and labour intensive planting and harvesting operations are done manually due to lack of specialized planting and harvesting equipment to carry out those tasks. The use of hand tools in potato production has many shortcomings such as disease transmission and tuber damage hence it is time that our production systems embraced mechanization in potato production in order to address this challenge. My Government is partnering with Agricultural Machinery Suppliers in this area following our exposure at Potato Euro 2014 in Germany recently. I wish to inform participants of the many opportunities that exist in the potato value chain which can be exploited to create wealth in Nyandarua County. With these remarks, ladies and gentlemen, it is now my pleasure to declare this forum officially opened. Thank you and May God bless us all.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 10:31:41 +0000
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