The so-called potato shortage that impacted KFC in Kenya last month reveals less about supply issues, and more about the longstanding forces that hold back the diversification and professionalisation of the country’s potato sector.
The majority of Kenya’s 800,000 potato farmers are excluded from high-value markets like restaurants and takeaways – not necessarily because they cannot produce enough, but because they have limited access to the full range of potato varieties and the tools to produce them to market standards.
