Constraints TH E WOR LD OF T he total area under potato in East African Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda doubled from about 160,000 ha in 1986 to well above 300,000 ha in 2006. The potato keeps up with the speed of population increase over this twenty year period. This, however, is achieved through increase in area only and not by increase of yield per hectare that actually shows a tendency to decrease from about nine to about eight tons per hectare. This contrasts with other areas in the world where potato rapidly gains importance such as China and India where higher yields are also a cause of production increase. The International Potato Centre (CIP) and Wageningen University reported systems research in the area and derive from it suggestions for improvement which was published by Peter Gildemacher and colleagues from CIP, the agricultural institutes in the region and Wageningen in Potato Research (52:173-205). Between 2005 and 2007 they carried out potato practices and technology surveys by interviewing many hundreds of farmers in representative districts. Here actual management practices and technology used by potato growers was documented. Secondly knowledge and information surveys were carried out among over seven hundred potato growers to find out how they received new knowledge on potato farming practices and marketing. Finally in each country single or multiple days stakeholder meetings were organized joining ware potato farmers, seed growers, extension workers, non governmental rural development organizations, processors, traders/transporters and suppliers of agro-chemicals. Each group defined its role in the potato supply chain and they identified constraints in the interaction with other stakeholders which were ranked and prioritized where convenient. The analysis showed that potato is usually grown in the highlands during the two rainy seasons with occasionally an irrigated off season crop in a somewhat lower valley. Depending on where in the region in each season the proportion of the land relatively intensively cropped with potato on plots of about 0.3 ha varies around 30 percent. Farmers in Uganda hardly use farm yard manure or chemical fertilizer whereas in Kenya almost half of the growers use manure and most of them fertilizers albeit half the dose of the actual crop need. The quality of the seed is low and less than half of the growers buy seed from neighbors or local markets, rarely from commercial seed growers and even so, mostly less than once in every five years. Of all potatoes produced most is marketed as a cash crop and almost 20 % (Kenya), 30% (Uganda) or 40 % (Ethiopia) is used at home as seed and food. In the first two countries most potatoes are purchased from the field by brokers who hire transport, in Ethiopia most potatoes are hauled to village markets where bought by wholesalers. The photo POTATO R ESEARCH shows roadside potato sales in Uganda. The farmers usually make a profit on the cash investment and the return on family labor is higher than from temporary jobs. The innovative techniques that most effectively boost potato productivity identified were better seed (knowing viruses, assuring renewal), better control of brown rot (reduced host frequency) and late blight (fungicides) and improved soil fertility (fallow, compost, manure, fertilizers). These innovations however require a reduced marketing insecurity otherwise growers will not invest and a better information exchange system. Gildemacher and colleagues quantified the sources and relative importance mentioning farmer’s own experience, family, community, research and traders with various weight concerning variety selection, seed, soil and so. Finally they identified constraints in the innovation system of CIP, national research, extension, growers and the private sector individually and noticed that they suffer from network failures: often too strongly focused on a single partner and not on enough links between them which limits the chance of new ideas to innovate the system. The authors propose the establishment of national potato forums representing all stakeholders that would ensure that not only research is addressed but that also resources are mobilized for growers to access knowledge. ● Anton Haverkort anton.haverkort@wur.nl 22 Potato World 2010 • number 1 Pagina 21
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