Title: An Analysis of Irish Potato Production Problems in Kenya for Sustainability
Stream: Humanities - Science, Environment and the Humanities
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Authors:
Wiliter Momanyi, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Kenichi Matsui, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Abstract:
Irish potato is an essential food crop to more than one billion people in the world. In Kenya, it is the second most consumed food item in the non-grain category and source of revenue for about 800,000 smallholder farmers. Despite its role as a food security crop, the yield remains low. Sustainable agricultural practices have been promoted more recently to mitigate some of environmental challenges (climate change shocks and soil fertility). The prospect of undertaking sustainable potato farming partly depends on better understanding of the trends in Irish potato production, challenges, and opportunities so that farmers and markets can make informed choices. Therefore, this paper aims to identify essential variables that affect potato production in Kenya. We examined the trends in Irish potato production in Kenya over the past 20 years using information from FAOSTAT 2022, a significant database on global agriculture. Using descriptive statistics, we found that Irish potato output in Kenya increased steadily with an average annual growth rate of 5.8% between 2000 and 2020. This was attributed to improved farming methods, increased use of certified seed, and expanded land area. Nevertheless, average productivity was three times lower (10 tonnes per hectare) than at research stations (40 tonnes per hectare). With this low yield, potato production cannot satisfy 41 kg per capita consumption demand in Kenya. Some problems we identified include ineffective disease management, climate change shocks, and limited market access. These findings provide the basis for implementing sustainable agricultural practices fully to improve potato sustainability in Kenya.
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