The National Potato Council of Kenya (NPCK) has identified transport and potato farmers as NPCK as the main challenges facing potato farmers.
Failure to comply with the 50kg law in parts of the county has also continued to affect the profit margin of the farmers with calls on the State to fully enforce the law.
To address this, the council has partnered with TingA, East Africa’s network of tractors and farm equipment to address the farming and transport challenges.
- READ MORE
- 1. Yes potatoes can thrive in dry areas, here is how
- 2. For quality and maximum yields in potato farming, use of machines key
- 3. Why potato farmers remain dejected lot despite potential
- 4. Potato farmers eye better yields
According to council CEO Wachira Kaguongo, under the project, the farmers will access potato planters, ploughs, air seeders, boom sprayers and harvesters from the farm network.
He noted that the availability of the machinery under the ‘Viazi Soko Digital platform’ will result in further mechanization, better cost management and increased efficiency.
“This will save time, lower costs of farming and reduce inefficiency associated with use of traditional manual labor that hinders farmers from maximizing the potential of their farms,” he said.
Wachira noted that the council was up-scaling the number of their members from 10,000 farmers to 25,000 farmers.