Program

Date	September 4, 2026 (Fri) 15:30 - 17:00
Method	Onsite
Venue	Lecture Room No.7, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University
Speaker	Dr. WAINAINA Cornelius Mbathi (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya)
Language	English
Registration form	Free and open to all. Click here
Contact	e-mail：icrea[at]agr.nagoya-u.ac.jp （[at] → @）

Potato is the second most important staple crop after maize in Kenya and a major food and income crop in Nyandarua County. Potato productivity among smallholder farmers remains substantially below attainable yield levels due to poor seed systems, inadequate soil fertility management, pests and diseases, limited mechanization, and weak value-chain integration. A research project is in progress to address these challenges and boost potato yields, funded by JICA (Africa-ai-Japan Project). Regional survey studies conducted in the project revealed large yield variations and diverse agronomic practices under smallholder conditions.

Participatory on-farm trials were henceforth implemented to compare farmer practices with integrated best management approaches using certified seed, soil test-based fertilizer blends, and optimized agrochemical programs. Best management practices resulted to potato yield increases of more than 50%. By adopting best crop management practices, potato yields can be improved to attainable yield levels, improve farm profitability under smallholder conditions and contribute to better livelihoods, food and nutritional security in Kenya. In this seminar, the progress, findings and achievements of the potato value chain project in Nyandarua county, Kenya will be shared.