Ian Barker

Head Agricultural Partnerships

Supply of quality potato seed in Kenya:
Social entrepreneurship at multiple levels


Landless workers
Commercial smallholder
Medium farm-holder
Large farm-holder



Income from agricultural activities
Number of land holdings
Syngenta
farmers
Pre-commercial smallholder
Foundation
farmers
Defining the Foundation farmer
A non-profit organization established by Syngenta under Swiss law
Can access company expertise but is legally independent and has its own Board
Our mission (SFSA)
Increasing productivity of pre-commercial farmers
Enabling sustainable resource management
Linking farmers to input and output markets

Social sustainability is implicit in all aspects of our work
(employment, livelihoods, long-term engagement with
communities- 30 years in Mali)
3
Where do we work?
4

Potato production in Africa including Kenya


5
Second largest crop after maize in Kenya
Important short-cycle cash and
subsistence crop in highlands of East
Africa (2.5M farmers)
Demand growing at 3.1% p.a.
Average yields of 7.8 t/ ha (FAOSTAT
2005) but many progressive farmers
achieve 25t/ha
Less than 1% of seed planted is quality
seed, compared with 20% in India

Large commercial farms can be successfully linked to smallholder
enterprises: in this case as seed suppliers and offering training (Kenya)
6

Large commercial farm as a social entrepreneur and a good
neighbour
Kisima Farm:
Supports the Ex Lewa, Saboiga, Kamiti, Ntirimiti
communities by providing access to education,
healthcare, water development and agricultural
extension
Employs 450 staff
Significant input into local economy (salaries and local
suppliers)
Significant tax payer
Supply of quality potato and wheat seed


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Minituber production

Field multiplication

Small entrepreneurial seed multipliers can earn significant
income and act as ambassadors at community level
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Christine Nashuru,
Transmara, Kenya

Trained as secondary
seed multiplier in 2008.
Sold KSh 247,900 ($3305
USD) of seed in long rain
season 2010.
Now trains other women
in the community.


Opportunities for youth: distribution of seed (small packs) at
village level and training opportunities in prisons

Seed as an investment: small-holder farmers should be
thought of as businesses too
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John and Ann Njihia,
Kiambu West, Kenya

Bought 2 x 5Kg bags of
certified seed for KSh 300
and harvested 200Kg.
Intend to sell half (worth
KSh 2000) and retain other
half to multiply seed to sell
to neighbours (worth KSh
30,000).
Quality seed has a natural
multiplier effect on
livelihoods.

Empowerment of women: in community businesses and
training of farmers
Beneficiaries
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Average planting by purchasers of 3G seed = 0.5 acre (0.2 ha).
Buyers repurchase after 4 seasons no loss in yield from G4, G5, or G6.
20% of crop sold on as clean seed.
733
2,676
6,616
13,849
Net benefit
Marginal increase KES 81,500 per acre and season.
Equates to USD 1,118 per season and acre, or USD 2236 per year.
However risk profile goes up significantly: SFSA currently looking at
insurance, contract farming and storage to mitigate risk.
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11,850
88,000
198,000
93,350
Surveys of small-holder neighbour opinions

Neighbourhood relations, impacts and engagement
process (2012: D. M. King)
40 key informants interviewed
Discussions facilitated with 100 people
171 respondents surveyed (36% women) in 3 local
communities
90% of neighbours directly or indirectly dependant on
farming (average farm size 2.9 acres)
41% of farmers mentioned supply of potato seed as
increasing their yields (more than 2x yield: subject to
follow-up impact study)
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Production of seed by public and private actors has
continued to grow beyond life of project- 10yr targets
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