Nairobi, Kenya
April 30, 2009
Source:
CropBiotech Update
A collaborative research project
aimed at increasing potato yields and farmers' incomes by
establishing systems to produce virus-free seed tubers, and
demonstrating the benefits of clean seeds to farmers, has been
launched in Kenya by the Kenya
Agricultural Research Institute (KARI),
Masinde Muliro University of
Science and Technology (MMUST),
University of Nairobi (UoN)
and Scottish Crop Research
Institute (SCRI), Scotland, United Kingdom. The project
coordinator, Dr. Hassan Were of Masinde Muliru University of
Science and Technology, said "this project will identify regions
in the country suitable for seed tuber production, establish a
system for virus-free seed tuber production, demonstrate the
advantages of clean seed to farmers on selected farms and
organize training courses to improve crop management".
Although potato is the second most important food crop in Kenya
after maize with a total annual production of 1.2 million
tonnes, virus diseases are a major factor limiting their
production as they cause degeneration of seed potatoes over
time. Kenya's average potato yields are only 5-10 t/ha compared
to about 40 t/ha obtained in countries such as the United
Kingdom. The Monsanto Fund has given a grant of Sterling Pounds
148,031 to the project as part of the company's corporate social
responsibility to support projects aimed at uplifting
livelihoods of farming communities through improved crop yields,
said Mr. Kinyua M'Mbijjewe, Monsanto Africa Corporate Affairs
Director, who presented the cheque to the project team during
the launch in Nairobi.
For more information contact Daniel Otunge
(d.otunge@cgiar.org) of
ISAAA AfriCenter or project coordinator Dr. Hassan Were (werehkde@yahoo.com)
Other news from the
Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI)
Other news from
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) |
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