Thanks to sucessfull field trials, 3 british potato varieties have been approved for release in Kenya. According to Rob Burns, AHDB Head of Crop Market Trade Development, “Kenya has a burgeoning middle class; and as well as table varieties there is a growing need for processing potato seed to supply the growing market for premium potato-based products such as crisps and chips.” 

In terms of performance, the Lady Balfour variety had an average of 56 tonnes per hectare, the Cara variety 52 tonnes per hectare and the Gemson variety yielded 42 tonnes per hectares on average.

In Kenya potatoes are the second most important food crop after maize.

According to the Daily Nation, Kiraitu Murungi, the governor of Meru County in Central Kenya, is banking on Canadian investors to increase potato production and processing in the region.

Mr Murungi said they held fruitful talks with Canadian experts and processors to boost potato farming and value addition in Meru. He added that he held very fruitful discussions with Guelph University officials on possible collaboration in research and marketing of agricultural produce.

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On June 20th 2018, the University of Nairobi hosted a workshop with MSMEs in order to present the HORTI-GREEN project, to encourage them to get involve, to network and to get information.
The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Prof. John Wangai Kimenju, welcomed all participants .
The Workshop brought together the project partners (Fundación Sustalde, University of Nairobi, Consumer Information Network and the Kenya Bureau of Standards), some horticultural processing MSMEs, business intermediaries and service providers with the aim of presenting the HORTI-GREEN project. 
Several topics were discussed: trade, health, food and environment, sustainable production, individual contributions by MSMEs to SCPs and challenges faced by consumers to access sustainable products.  The participants also attended a presentation of the ISO 14000 family of standards, benefits of ISO 14001 certification and the process of certification which included awareness creation, training, documentation, piloting, installation, improvements audits and certification .
The different presentations were followed by round tables with MSMEs in order to collect information on environmental, economic and social hotspots of the horticultural processing industry and to identify the needs of the target group.

The launch of phase II of Switch Africa Green Grants in Kenya took place on June 18th and 19th 2018 at the Laico Hotel in Nairobi.
The participants were members of the Kenya National Technical Coordination Committee, the project grantees and MSMEs as the final beneficiaries of the project in Kenya. Specifically, each grantee of phase I attended with 30% of their beneficiary MSMEs.
The main objective was to bring the grantees and beneficiaries of phase I and II to share lessons and experiences as well as explore areas of synergy and complementarity. The purpose of this event was to discuss success, challenges and opportunities for green business development in Kenya.

The African Union Commission, with the support of the European Union, has launched the 2018 Open Call for Proposals of the 2nd Phase of the African Union Research Grant on February 23, 2018.

This call for proposal supports Africa’s Science Technology and Innovation Strategy-2024 which addresses the aspirations identified under Agenda 2063 and Priority 3 on Human development of the EU-Africa partnership. The call supports research on: Food, Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) with particular attention on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition.

Four varieties of British potato seed sent to Africa have performed strongly at three Kenyan trial sites, with yields similar to the UK. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) have been working together to open the Kenyan market to GB seed. A bilateral agreement was signed by the Scottish and Kenyan governments late in 2016.

The Government is in the process of privatising the Nyabihu District-based potato processing plant amid tight market and low production capacity, The New Times has learnt.

The decision comes as part of efforts to turn around the factory production capacity, which is currently low, according to government officials familiar with the situation.

The factory lacks proper management to optimise its productivity and its products have failed to penetrate the local market, officials said. 

In partnership with F1000, the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is launching a publication platform, AAS Open Research, to enable AAS funded and affiliated researchers to publish without barriers and immediately. It will launch in early 2018. AAS Open Research will showcase African research on the global stage in an innovative and transparent way.

Demand for agricultural produce has over the years experienced a steady growth especially for international market but has faced lots of red lights due to poor or unmet standards with some products having to face partial ban. With agriculture being the backbone of the country’s economy, the laboratory comes as a relief to the sector as it will ensure that produce from Kenya meets the required international standards.  The facility that was unveiled by Deputy President William Ruto was completed at a cost of Ksh.250 million and has come in handy to help address challenges related to quality standards. Kenya now has a facility where testing of fertilizers, seeds, soil and water can be carried out before being used by farmers. This will also facilitate the production of healthy plants, sustainable agro-environment and safe trade.