Potato farmers in Meru are set to benefit from Korea through the Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture (KOPIA).
Dr Ji Gang Kim, director of Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture (KOPIA), said they are carrying out modern village projects in Meru County.
“We are holding training on cultivation and post-harvest management within Meru County. We have three modern villages that have potato production.
“So far we are training farmers on post-harvest management and marketing to help farmers sell their potatoes at good prices and how to manage the quality of potatoes,” Kim said.
Kim said Potato farmers in Kenya have the ability to increase their production. “We want to help farmers sell their potatoes at good prices”.
Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture (KOPIA) Meru County Coordinator Julius M’Itonga said Potato Production in Meru has increased from about 8,000 kilograms per hectare to over 16,700 per hectare through the initiative.
“That is a very good increment. However that is below our optimum which we can attain about 30,000 per hectare. We will continue training farmers and equipping them with technology in partnership with the county government to ensure they improve further,” he said.
He said farmers have a challenge with the storage of the potatoes they harvest.
“If they sell immediately after harvest, high chances are that they will sell at a low price but if they store them to sell later at good market prices it will be good for them,” M’Itonga said.
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He also said the Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture has created cold storage facilities at Katheri and Murungurune where farmers can store their Potatoes for one month therefore fetching good market prices.
The Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture has good agricultural officers that train farmers on good storage practices. He said they have also reached out to more farmers to join the group training and will do training for farmers in all potato growing areas.
M’Itonga urged Potato farmers to make sure they form Cooperatives to ensure they are able to bargain prices and get training and grants as a group.
Chief Officer for Agriculture James Mutia said they will help farmers by ensuring they follow up to enforce on Potato regulations by Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) to ensure Potato farmers get profits.
“We will not allow potato stacking in Meru County. All Potato sacks in Meru should not exceed 50kg bag,” Mutia said.
By John Majau.
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