KFC is Getting Closer to a Deal for Accessing the Kenyan Potato Crop

KFC is getting closer to a contract to buy potatoes from Kenyan farmers. The historic agreement is anticipated to enhance growers' revenues and alleviate recurring gluts, which have seen their product decay in stores and farms due to a lack of ready market.

Following permission from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Kenyan Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary, Simon Chelugei, announced in April that local farmers had begun planting the Memphis potato variety favored by KFC.

“After the talks with KFC last year on where they source their potatoes, they gave us the specific seed quality they want and we were able to import it, farmers have started planting and we expect that shortly, all potatoes used in KFC and all the food chains in the country will be sourced locally. This will mean more money to farmers, it means saving the country’s dollars and also promotion of our industrialization of our SMEs,” Chelugei mentioned, cited by The Standard.

A group of key players in the potato value chain, including the County Government of Nyeri, Yara East Africa, Bayer East Africa, and Agrico PSA, recently observed the harvesting of potatoes at the first Demonstration Farm in Kieni Sub-County in Nyeri. The consortium was led by the Co-operative Bank of Kenya. Simplifine Ltd, a food processor hired by KFC to supply processed potatoes, was the buyer of the goods. They saw the demonstration and decided to buy directly from the farmers without using an intermediary.

Co-op Bank allied with other significant participants in the agricultural value chain to establish The Potato Consortium, where each partner contributes their area of expertise to help farmers' efforts to produce potatoes profitably and sustainably. The program aims to generate high-yielding potato cultivars that fast food chains like KFC are interested in buying. Under the deal, agronomy support is given to farmers through extension services embedded within the county government set-up through the use of ward agricultural officers and cooperative officers. The farmers have access to affordable financing from Co-op Bank which is aligned to the potato crop cycle and pegged on financing farmer activity throughout the production, harvest, and post-harvest management.

The fried chicken franchise entered the Kenyan market in 2011 and has 35 outlets across East Africa.