News on Research from Kenya

Kenya nears release of '3R' Late Blight-resistant potatoes after 20+ years of research by CIP & KALRO. Supported by 2Blades, Feed the Future & Simplot, the varieties promise higher yields, disease protection, and improved food security by 2026.

The James Hutton Institute introduced two PCN-resistant potato varieties, Malaika and Glen, in Kenya. Developed with international partners, they boost yields, support food security, and meet local farmers’ needs for fast-cooking, low-dormancy potatoes.

IITA, FAO & partners equip 12 African nations to detect/manage Potato Cyst Nematodes, a pest slashing yields & threatening trade, via training, diagnostics, awareness & regional cooperation to protect farmers’ livelihoods & potato production.

The 13th World Potato Congress will be held in Naivasha, Kenya, from October 26–30, 2026—the first in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hosted by NPCK and FreshCrop Ltd, the event will spotlight global potato innovations, food security, and trade.

Kenya will host the 13th World Potato Congress in October/November 2026, following a venue change from Poland. Led by NPCK and supported by key partners, the event aims to spotlight potatoes' role in food security and economic growth.

The variety release committee of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) has recently announced that three of Solynta’s hybrid true potato varieties have been approved for distribution in Kenya.

To combat hunger and malnutrition, the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Potato Center (CIP) have extended their partnership for a further four years with a new memorandum of understanding (MOU)

The International Potato Center (CIP) has collaborated with Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) to release the KC Sweet Purple variety of sweet potato in an effort to tackle ongoing climate challenges facing farmers in Kenya.

A capacity-building initiative that started in Kenya to fill gaps in the supply of high-quality early generation seed (EGS) is now spreading across Asia and many African countries

Richard Mbaria makes a point at his potato in Kapsita village of Nakuru County, Kenya. The farmer has increased his production per acre thanks to training by a CARP+ project implemented in the area by Egerton University.

Addressing seed shortages for potato is a perennial challenge in many potato-producing countries. Potato seed systems rely on several successive generations of bulking seed tubers to produce commercial seed.

Researchers are developing lower-emissions rice varieties, feed additives and other technological innovations to create a more sustainable food system.

You can now join the East Africa Potato Value Chain Knowledge Sharing Portal, which aims to address the scientific and technological divide in the field of agricultural value-chain innovations by enabling East African research organizations to create, update and use scientific knowledge and technological innovations.

The recently published LEI/WUR report ‘The value chain for seed and ware potatoes in Kenya’ emphasises the importance of conditioned storage for the continuous availability of certified seed potatoes.

Potato in Kenya is an important food crop, second to maize. In 2011 the Dutch and Kenyan government agreed to support an initiative to support seed potato development in Kenya in order to increase yields and enhance food security.

Njoroge is studying a new lineage of Phytophthora infestans called KE-1 that is spreading rapidly across East Africa.

Plans are underway to start breeding drought resistant potato varieties to curb food shortage. Players in potato farming who were meeting at Oljoro Orok Farmers Training Centre in Nyandarua West district observed that available potato varieties are onl...

In Kenya, Potato farmers and traders are bracing for lower returns after a bumper harvest prompted a price crash, easing consumer anxiety over the rising cost of living compounded by a shortage of maize.