Commercial Sweet Potato Farming in Kenya
Can you grow sweet potatoes commercially in Kenya? The answer is yes and we have done it for decades. Sweet potato consumption has increased considerably in the country in the past decades with the main sweet potato market in Nairobi absorbing close to 90% of the sweet potato grown commercially in the country. Other major, albeit much smaller, markets for sweet potato are Kisii, Nyamira, Kericho and Nakuru. There is also a growing uptake of sweet potatoes in Mombasa although for many farmers upcountry, especially from Western Kenya, the transportation costs can be prohibitive.

The size of the market alone makes sweet potato farming in Kenya a commercially viable venture. To grow it on a commercial scale, you will have to put more acreage under farming and plant at the right time. You have to weed and harvest at the right time so as to make the most of your venture. A 10 acre land should yield over 200 bags of sweet potatoes and at market prices ranging from Ksh.5000 to Ksh.7500, that easily adds up to Ksh.1 million to Ksh.1.5 million minimum revenues within a period of only 5 months.

There are certain things to keep in mind when planning to grow your sweet potato commercially. These include the following:-

• Put more acreage under cultivation
• Prepare land early just before the onset of the rains
• Ensure you have prepared the sweet potato mounds correctly and that they are deep enough so as to allow for full development of the root tubers.
• Plant in time just at the onset of rains
• Secure the best quality and disease free sweet potato vines
• Weed your sweet potatoes in time
• Harvest in time
• Prepare prompt transportation from your farm to the market in Nairobi

If you are planning to put more land under cultivation, we advise that you prepare yourself financially as there are various costs involved before your crop will be ready for harvesting and marketing.C