The Growing Popularity of Sweet Potatoes in Kenya

Many Kenyans increasingly want to eat healthy and this has seen a soaring in the demand of sweet potatoes. Sweet potato production in Kenya offers farmers several advantages over other crops due to the fact the cost of production is very low and there is a vast and ready market for farmers. Currently, a bag for sweet potatoes goes for about Ksh.7500 which means if you are planting a massive acreage and using the right vines for production, you could make a lot of money. Prices generally fluctuate depending on the availability but it varies from Ksh.4000 up to Ksh.7500 for the 90kg bag of sweet potatoes. Wholesalers who buy sweet potato farmers will pay Ksh.3500 to Ksh.4500 at the current market rates and then have to wash it, pack it in bags and then transport it to Nairobi.

In order for farmers to reap the maximum benefits from sweet potato farming in Kenya, they need to invest in good sweet potato vines that are highly marketable. These vines should be clean and free from viral diseases so you must make sure you are buying from multiplication centres that offer you a guarantee of quality vines through top quality sweet potato vine multiplication processes.

The demand for sweet potatoes is driven by the trend towards health consciousness by many urban Kenyans. Additionally, many farmers are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of sweet potatoes as a supercrop. The main areas of sweet potato production in Kenya is Homa Bay county which used to account for up to 60% of the production. Currently, its market share has reduced a little bit as more regions in Kenya take up sweet potato farming. One of the areas where new sweet potato production is increasingly taking route is in Sirare border and Northern Tanzania. Many farmers from Homa Bay have leased land in the areas in order to shift to more large scale sweet potato production. Other growing areas that are fast emerging as leading sweet potato production centres include Kakamega, Trans Nzoia, Nakuru and a few counties in Central Kenya.

Most of the sweet potato varieties grown in Kabondo in Homa Bay will mature within five and six months and you can begin selling them. The good thing with sweet potatoes is that the market is always there. Nairobi County has an insatiable sweet potato market and no matter the amount of produce, you can always sell it within a very short period of time.

If you are planning to venture into sweet potato farming, land is the most important resource that you will need. If the soils are fertile and the area receives some moderate rainfall, your sweet potato crop will do really well. The yellow fleshed sweet potato variety is the most popular variety with many Kenyan consumers and over 95% of the sweet potatoes grown in Kabondo are of the yellow fleshed variety. They are not only sweet to the taste, they are less watery when cooked and they can be preserved for a very long time even when cooked. They do not spoil easily compared to the white fleshed sweet potato variety.

In the recent years, there has been the introduction of the purple fleshed sweet potato variety but these have not taken route with most Kenyan consumers who are more familiar with the orange fleshed variety of sweet potatoes.

The Advantages of the Yellow Fleshed Sweet Potato Variety
We have covered this variety in great detail on this blog because it is the sweet potato variety which we grow. Apart from the fact that it is very sweet, it is also very rich in vitamins, various minerals and antioxidants.
You can order our sweet yellow fleshed sweet potato vines by emailing freerangefarming.info@gmail.com or call 0725 772524.