KENYA FACING IRISH POTATOES SHORTAGE

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FRANCIS ILAHAKAi <francisilahakai@gmail.com>
11/16/15



      Kenyans including Nairobi County are facing irish  potatoes waru which is common food.
   In the past few days price of potatoes commonly known for chipo had gone up beyond common man income and unless something is done common nam may not afford them.
   Check up at the famous Marikiti market and Gikomba the price had gone up forcing mama mboga to ignore them because they cant make any profit in the slum  given that four pieces are going for ksh 20.
 As this  is happening the goverment through ministry of agriculture had not yet sopund warning about the short and how to over come it.
In the past few years chipo had been the only food for Nairobians of low income live alone women who were the major consumers during 80s and 90s.
 The trunth is that irish potatoes were only grown in  Central and some part of Rift valley and was mostly consumed by Kikuyu and city women because men ignored them.
  Currently eveery body is consuming chipo  while the growers are not increasing   to over come the high demand rising day and night according to traders who had been selling chipo for the last 20 years.
 In order to Kenya to increase productivity the goverment should create awareness so that  Irish potatoes should be grown in every part of the Country.
 To make the matter gravered yard farmers are still using old fashionable way of growing the crop which needs fertile land and good rainfall especially during planting season.
 The farmers are  now blaming   scientist who had produced GMO  paptoes which is athreat to local varieties. but instead appealed to them to start working with farmers.
 On the other side   Waru can be grown cheaply in fertile land including Nairobi County but urban farmers luck information.
 Waru like sukuma wiki can be grown in garden in suck and still perform well and reduce  shortage and this can only happen if the County officers are willing to work with urban farmers in the city.
 Check up in Nairobi some urban farmers had start to grow  waru in garden in the suck.
 It now time for the gaverment to act or start   importing Waru from other East African Countries