Abstract:
Potato is produced on areas ranging from 0.5ha to 5ha, using mainly farm
saved seed, manual labor and limited input use. Land is prepared using
manual methods or supplemented with oxen. The crop is synonymous with
steep slopes of Mt Elgon and thus difficult to mechanize. Luckily some
expanses of Kween and Kapchorwa are flat enough for mechanization.
Planting is done manually and ridges created with hand hoes at first
weeding. In Kapchorwa and Kween, potato producers have modified the
planting by opening ridges using oxen, placing seed by hand and covering
the seed using a log pulled by oxen. Harvesting however is still manual
using hand hoes managed by mainly women and children with youth
participating mainly at the loading. From the fields the tubers are; loaded
into bags and carried on donkeys to the road side ready to be directly loaded
onto waiting trucks.