The potato is an important food and nutrition security crop in sub-Saharan Africa. But there is one serious problem - limited access to quality seed potatoes.
The situation is no different in Cameroon, where national annual potato production is only 300 tonnes – well below national demand estimates. In addition, with increased production, Cameroonian farmers could profit from export opportunities to neighboring countries such as Chad, Gabon and the Central African Republic.
However, access to certified potato seed is extremely low (<5%), which means that most farmers recycle old seed potatoes for subsequent plantings, producing an average of 7-10 tonnes per hectare (t/ha), well below reasonable potential yields. at 20-30 t/ha.
But the recent success in Kenya (in seed potatoes) - supported by the International Potato Center (CIP) - holds great promise for Cameroon and other SSA countries, where potatoes can play a more central role in food security.
Working with local Kenyan partners, CIP helped build and coordinate production and access to starter materials to produce certified seed from minitubers. These materials include basic clones and test-tube plants of rehabilitated seed potatoes, which produce higher yields and represent attractive income opportunities for small farmers.
To learn more about Kenya's success story, CIP and the Green Innovation Centers for Agriculture and Food Project (ProCISA) organized a trip for 12 Cameroonian delegates, including researchers from the Institute for Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) and private seed producers from different regions to learn more about building capacity for seed potato production with the latest innovations.
“Kenya is more advanced in seed potato production and capacity building. We came to study and see if we can adopt the models here. Everything will change. Setting up seed labs is just the beginning,” says Julie Teh Nguh, Deputy Director at MINADER.
Cameroon context
Seed potato growers in Cameroon currently import most of their seed from the Netherlands and France for propagation and sale. However, this seed material can only reproduce for two seasons and becomes unproductive after that. Moreover, the seeds they produce are often too expensive for most small farmers in the country.
A delegation from Cameroon learned in Kenya how to set up laboratories and systems to produce quality potato seed that can be sold at a lower price but higher quality than imported seeds.
At the Kenya Agricultural Research and Livestock Organization (KALRO), the delegation saw how test-tube plants of healthy seed potatoes are propagated. As a result, Kenyan farmers have noticed a dramatic reduction in bacterial wilt in their potato crops.
“It all starts in our laboratory. We cannot fail at this stage… “As the demand for pure seed grows, growers will soon need materials to grow plants in test tubes in large quantities. We need to propagate plants quickly and under the best aseptic conditions. I need my team to be aware of the lessons I learned from this trip,” said Rauwitta Omabit, tissue culture specialist at IRAD.
After visiting the lab, the delegation traveled to Kisima Farms, a private seed farm in Meru County that uses aeroponics to produce seed potatoes, and Stockman Rozen Kenya, another private firm that works with adapted test tube plants and local growers to mass produce clean seeds. .
In Kenya, 15-25 tubers can be obtained from one adapted tube plant, and 3 times more can be obtained in the field.
“My first action will be to build a laboratory. I want to start a business of propagating and selling adapted test tube plants and supplying them to farmers. Other technology such as aeroponics will require longer term planning.",said Norbert Kenfak, chairman of the PROPOTEM farming cooperative in western Cameroon.
Market-preferred varieties
But clean seeds are not enough to improve production. Increased yields will not solve food and nutrition security issues unless the varieties produced are purchased by buyers in the market (N. Ronoh/CIP).
Breeding firm KALRO has released several high-yielding varieties for farmers based on market research that predicted their popularity. Unica is a new favorite variety of farmers.
“We also need to develop and improve local varieties. We need competitive varieties. Many of our varieties are important, said Clement Vara, a private seed producer. “We would like Unica and other CIP varieties to be added to our national catalog.”
Finally, the delegation from Cameroon was encouraged to promote the formation of farmers' groups to accelerate the dissemination of innovative ideas and varieties among communities.
Wachira Kagungo, CEO of the National Potato Council of Kenya (NPCK), said their success owes a lot to the marketing and promotion efforts of high quality seed. Digital platforms were made available to scale up and organize information;
“Our Viazi Soko (Web site) provides end-to-end information on the value chain from production to marketing of potatoes, as well as advisory services on meteorological conditions for all stakeholders. Through this platform, farmers can place seed orders in advance and NPCK arranges scheduled shipments,” Kagungo said.
The Cameroon team spent a total of five days in Kenya.