Support for smallholder farmers in East Africa
Scientists at St Andrews are collaborating with colleagues from the James Hutton Institute in Dundee and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in Kenya to develop tools to tackle an emerging threat to potato crops in Kenya.
Potato is one of the few crops grown for both food and income by millions of smallholder farmers across East Africa, and the emergence of a potato cyst nematode (PCN) pest threatens production in the region. If left unchecked, PCN could devastate potato crops and push millions into poverty.
Most potato breeding programmes focus on the needs of growers in Europe and North America, which means these cultivars may not be suited to the distinct growing conditions in East Africa. To address this, researchers, led by Professor John Jones in the School of Biology, have worked with local partners to identify the key factors driving variety choice among Kenyan smallholders.
This effort has notably included consultations with women in the region to better understand their needs in cultivar selection, which include rapid cook times to ease women’s workloads, low dormancy rates for faster replanting, and resistance to PCN.
The new lines of PCN-resistant potatoes have undergone field trials and taste tests, which have provided valuable insights into potential barriers to uptake. The lines are now being assessed through National Performance Trials in Kenya, with support from the Syngenta Foundation. If successful, they will be distributed nationwide, allowing smallholders to continue harvesting potatoes successfully.