Sharing of gains of the potato in Kenya: A case of thin governance IJAM Sharing gains of the potato in Kenya: A case of thin governance Joseph Gichuru Wang’ombe 1* and Meine Pieter van Dijk 2, 3 1 African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787, Nairobi 00100, Kenya 2 Maastricht School of Management, Maastricht, Netherlands 3 UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water education, Delft, Netherlands The potato offers a good alternative for diversification from maize, the staple food in Kenya. This article presents the results of a study on the potato marketing system, the factors affecting prices and the predominant governance system impacting on the market. Survey data were collected from 402 farmers in the three potato growing regions and addition information on monthly prices in major markets was provided the Ministry of Agriculture. There were also semi-structured interviews with the major actors in the potato sector. Potato marketing exhibits the captive governance structure with traders collaboratively acting as the lead firm. An analysis of the split in selling price between the various players indicates that margins were concentrated at the coordination of marketing activities as opposed to the production activities. Coordination activities took about 40% of the consumer price. Besides the market channel used, the production region, the size of the land cultivated and the yields obtained determined the price obtained by the farmers. Given the distribution of the value added in the chain and the current dominance of traders, we argue in favour of upgrading the value chain and giving more power to the farmers and their organizations. Key words: Marketing, value chain, prices, governance INTRODUCTION The leading food crop in Kenya in terms of annual tonnage is maize followed by potatoes and beans (Republic of Kenya, 2011). Maize is the main staple food in Kenya but its role in feeding the population is now greatly challenged as famine is constantly experienced in many regions of the country. In Kenya, the supply of maize and its price is usually a political issue as insufficient maize supply is synonymous with famine as country relies on imports with attendant higher costs. The potato offers a good alternative for diversifying from maize where Kenya is a net importer. It ranks next to maize in tonnage but is yet to assume an important place in food tables especially in rural areas where the crop is not grown. The potato is, however, in great demand by urban residents where it is made into potato chips (French fries) in hotels and served as part of stew at the household level. Potatoes are grown in the highlands of Kenya. The main potato growing areas are between 1,400 and 2,700 metres above sea level with mean annual rainfalls of 1,000 mm or greater (Durr and Lorenzl, 1980). * Corresponding author: Dr. Joseph Gichuru Wang’ombe, African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787, Nairobi 00100, Kenya. Telephone +254 20400100, +254736342365 Email: jgichuru@aphrc.org International Journal of Agricultural Marketing Vol. 2(2), pp. 034-045, February, 2015. © www.premierpublishers.org. ISSN: 2167-0470 Research Article