Potato farmers are making losses due to an increase in their packing bag sizes. The Kenya National Potato Farmers Association (KNPFA) reports that farmers have been forced to charge the same price for potatoes regardless of the fact that they use bigger sacks.

KNPFA National Secretary, Edward Mwamba said that the Ministry of Agriculture has failed to recognise that farmers are using 180 kg bags as opposed to the standard 110 kg bags. He noted that the bigger sacks still cost just as much as the smaller ones, ranging between KES 1500 and KES 1800. Mwamba said that farmers preferred the bigger sacks which enable them to save both time and money during the packing process.

The Association noted that farmers would be forced to hike the price of potatoes unless the government comes up with a solution.

In light of these developments, KNPFA has asked the Ministry to establish regulations that will enable farmers to avoid further losses. This comes shortly after KNPFA projected that potato prices would drop starting in July.