A few weeks ago, I ended up on a cooking recipe sharing type of website, venturing off the beaten path to find other ways to prepare potatoes, to diversify our home cooked meal culinary experiences.

That same website I camped at for some time, listed 75 ways of cooking a potato, quite extensively and thoroughly. Made In Africa focus: the source of our food, matters more than the recipe Past the diverse recipes: what struck me the most was my recalling a speech I delivered in Zambia, back in June, covering unfortunate events of Kenya’s KFC

potato dialogue early into 2022. The gist of that keynote, addressing the made in Africa reforms, was this: it doesn’t matter much how you cook your potatoes, whether you prefer to boil your potatoes, fry them, steam them, or mash them, enjoy them at home or go the fast-food route, are all lesser relevant matters.

What matters in trade is this: where did your potatoes come from and under what circumstances were they produced? Depending on what happened between the farm and your dinner table, it could leave a bad taste in your mouth.

What the Kenya potato furor reminded us of is this: between the source and your dinner table there could be so many things that are happening, unbeknown to you. A 10-year assumption by most of our Kenyan brothers and sisters, that KFC was NOT sourcing its ware potatoes from Kenyan farmers, meant a decade long loss of income to those hard-working farmers, most of them small holder farmers.

A hot potato in the hands of a global restaurant chain:
What was perhaps meant to be a routine admission by KFC: when their fries ran out for weeks on end, along the lines of “we are out of potatoes due to supply chain shocks between Egypt (where we source them) and Kenya” triggered such a tense atmosphere online and offline and got the nation of Kenya lambasting this arrangement.

Indeed, the push back by Kenyans, saw the establishment of a nation-wide public sector led task force, comprising more than 15 inter-disciplinary leaders to relook at the nation’s potato affairs.

Some much-needed housekeeping, which also saw KFC relent, and agree to deploy mechanisms right away, to build Kenyan based capacities to source and process potatoes on Kenyan soil.

These are great outcomes. Have you ever paused for a moment, and asked yourself if there could be inequalities, red-tape, unfairness, artificial barriers designed to exclude small or new businesses from participating effectively within the supply chain, of not just potatoes but any food you and I consume?

That’s what my team and I obsess about, daily, through our blockchain for social good Africa facing interventions, more on that later.

The procurement dynamics of sourcing potatoes or similar commodities across Africa, could have human rights being violated, reckless environmental impacts, harmful production methods, unfair treatment of workers, income inequalities, and perhaps corrupt officials suffocating the food sourcing corridors.

As you can see the picture that is emerging: potato enjoyment takes more than a good recipe, and certainly, KFC’s much loved 11 spices packed recipe is incomplete if their sourcing locks out those meant to benefit mutually from the company’s presence in their local market.

You are perhaps beginning to realize that this write up is less about finger pointing, and much more focused on adding a tangible voice to impeccable efforts already underway to rethink Kenya’s potato supply chain.

A model which when fine-tuned will avail best practices for other nations, battling similar difficulties, when it comes to protecting their markets and own community interests.

Kenya landscape: ware potatoes marketing channels

The future is digital: priceless learnings from the past (Kenya’s WRS model) Having established that, when looking ahead: the term “the future is digital” is much more aptly relevant to the Kenyan potato sourcing and supply equation, perhaps more than any other moving part in that sector.

This is made testament, by Kenya’s already existing inroads, realized across the agricultural sector as far back as 2019. Just to mention one of those: Kenya’s Warehouse Receipt System, comes to mind, which must be revisited at this nexus, as further reforms are being rolled out, or considered, alongside ongoing potato industry task force investigations.

A recap on the brilliant framework, making up the Warehouse Receipt System (WRS): it was passed through the Warehouse Receipts Systems Act No. 8 0f 2019 back in June 2019. Then followed by establishment of the Warehouse Receipt System Council (WRSC), the body responsible for establishment, maintenance, and development of the Warehouse Receipt System for agricultural commodities produced in Kenya, as inaugurated on 29th July 2020.

Why revisiting these already existing frameworks is critical, beyond leveraging their positive learnings and advantageous benefits: the bedrock of future plans for the future often leans heavily on our understanding or appreciation of past track-records.

The WRS has already set out priority focus on incorporating the potato sector and value chains thereof into its framework focus, alongside other efforts by adjacent industry bodies. What has this framework realized to date: quality assurance (for every crop deposited into the approved warehouses with receipts generated), digitization inroads (through digital records of the stored inventory and its conditions) and most notably financial inclusion for farmers (banks came on board to avail trade finance for farmers depositing their crops).

Working systems are not enough: bulletproofing existing frameworks is key

Where does blockchain come in: amid this pursuit to future proof Kenya’s best interests? Most of you may recall a Distribution Ledgers Technology (Blockchain) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) task force back in 2019, led by one of Kenya’s seasoned elders, Professor Bitange Ndemo. That study formed was quite aptly timed. Through joint efforts, as a distant colleague, I add my focus (and trained eye) to these early efforts, which paved the way for Kenya and Africa’s digitization push.

Blockchain, without delving into much technical details, beyond crypto currency is a distributed ledger availing the much-needed source of one truth for all stakeholders involved, to work off the same framework, not many silos. This blockchain framework becomes incredibly relevant, when sourcing agents from companies like KFC and others lament the poor quality of produce, being the reason behind their not sourcing potatoes locally.

Did you know, prior to blockchain implementation: it required more than 200 different signatures and paperwork to move one shipping container from Kenya to the Netherlands. That’s just the shipping implication. What about Quality Assurance? Ever wondered why during a food recall: entire inventory batches of food have to be recalled, as compared to recalling just one batch of bad stock?

It is near impossible for retailers to know and pinpoint exactly which food batch is compromised, when presence of a contamination is picked up in a value chain. Too many role players, too many actors across the supply chain touch points, as illustrated by the figure below, and way too many procedural actions. All making it impossible to know if there was a compromise to the quality or hygiene of produce, with unquestionable surety.

Yes: quality measures exist, such as revered US quality protocols developed specifically for potatoes, but the reality is: Africa is not an environment where cut and paste methods can be applicable. The terrain is way too diverse, economically, especially when dealing with small holder farmers, who require a business unusual approach to envisioning and enforcing quality standards.

Blockchain in this regard, is far more aligned to Africa’s already existing peer to peer culture, with beneficial lowering of barriers to entry, and democratization of access to markets for the little players, alongside established commercial size farmers and distributors. Levelling the playing field is what blockchain does: as one source of truth, when deployed, creating an equitable see-through supply chain, where all stakeholders are “singing from the same hymn book” if I may borrow that phrase.

In that regard: all forms of digital systems of trade, much similar to the Warehouse Receipt System, end up making tangible inroads into improving the livelihoods of previously excluded individuals and entities, but only to a certain point.

There comes a point where immutability (protection of records from being edited or compromised) requires blockchain’s critical input, as an additional layer to these frameworks, to protect and grow such a proud commendable legacy, into the future.

A practical scenario: I am not saying it is happening, but just ponder on this hypothesis. The early roll out days of the WRS: saw farmers being turned away, for credible reasons, such as mealie stocks that were either not dried properly, or dual mixed mealie crops combining good and bad quality produce.

What if: in future, farmers are turned away with their mealie produce or potato produce, due to alleged “poor quality” of their inventory (unless they pay a bribe)? This is in no way a jab at the inner workings of the well thought out WRS: but much like similar frameworks elsewhere in the world, if not “bulletproof” protected from tampering or human bias or human error, then a “blight infection” in a form of corrupt conduct or pure human error could creep into such a fine working system.

Hence blockchain is a framework my team and I are often called upon by African states and private entities alike: to envision its input into existing legacy systems, to evolve them towards a more equitable and human error proof existence.

As a parent: you do not leave an inheritance for your children under the bed mattress, do you? You add layers of safekeeping, to ensure it is safe. Think of blockchain inputs, as such additional layers, protecting not just current but future generations. That’s why: we refer to blockchain as a trust machine, because of its value in stepping up the trust when added as a layer to already working systems, or when introduced as a framework to leapfrog absent capacities, to balance trade.

Back to the KFC sourcing scenario: to be fair, there’s good reason to be worried, if you were KFC, as to whether the quality consistency of your potatoes is guaranteed.

What KFC cannot be excused from: is continuing to operate on presumptions that Kenyan sourced potatoes are not good enough for their offerings, without making known tangible efforts to improve such a situation, in Kenya’s best interest, 10 years later. Resulting in those hard-working Kenyan farmers losing out on the trade benefits that could have come with supplying KFC (and other food brands for that matter). KFC settling to source outside Kenya, till the 2021 and 2022 supply chain shock was an unfortunate move on their part. One which thankfully the Kenyan population moved forward to rectify: in clear certain terms.

The reality is this: the same Kenyan based consumers that insist on KFC sourcing locally also expect to continue benefiting from good quality standards, when consuming the KFC products, they have come to love and enjoy. Assumptions that Kenyan potatoes are of inferior quality: should have never taken root, in the first place. Therein lies my personal appreciation for every existing effort currently unfolding, across policy, to farming and processing capacities improvements. It is, however, a joint intervention: well beyond what the government can do alone, and well beyond a single private sector or regulatory player.

KFC’s 11 spices recipe might just be a clue to future proofing Kenya’s potato trade. 11 or more harmonious interventions, working in tandem could trigger and maintain the much-needed win-win, for the restaurant, farmers, the government, regulators, and yes, the consumers themselves.

100 steps before you grab that potato fry: a behind the scenes potato journey

There’s great attention to details that must be paid to seed quality to ensure outputs of a specific variety and disease-free produce, final size, texture and shape, not forgetting the intricacies of cultivation. Then what follows is: the production system amid environmental and climatic factors to be navigated, handling and storage dynamics post-harvest.

The equally critical quality determinant is where the potato is grown. A brief perspective on those growth geographies: Kenyan counties currently growing potatoes include Bomet, Homa Bay, Bungoma, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kiambu, Meru, Nakuru, Narok, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Taita Taveta, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu and West Pokot. More than 800,000 smallholder farmers cultivate the crop. The methodologies that go into the process must of course, never be overlooked. So is the specific soil type and soil quality, terrain altitude, rainfall and temperature patterns, all affect the growing environment.

Then comes the delicate act of ensuring the right inputs such as fertilizer, manure and agrochemicals which all affect the plant’s health and the final output from the crop.

The farmer is still not out of the woods yet: they still have to apply appropriate harvesting methodologies, which are in line with quality expectations of the brokers, processors, or restaurants in this case. Remember: bruised potatoes have a low shelf life and are not preferred by consumers. See how: wanting to buy local, comes with a bold responsibility across the board. One that we cannot afford to shy away from, and must be granted to us, to navigate, without an assumption that Kenyans cannot meet or exceed these benchmarks.

Beyond the harvest hurdle: potatoes must be sorted in line with tailored standards, for proper packaging. In this regard: storage is of crucial importance. Globally: dark, cold storage environments have been known to prevent the potatoes from sprouting and changing color en route to their destination, which such conditions also help maintain freshness and goodness. The final but equally critical hurdle is the right transportation, if quality is to be preserved. Usage of non-recommended bags could cause bruising and quality compromise.

One mishap: in any of these intricate steps, what ends up in your box of fries will not be to your liking, I guarantee you that. This paper trail produced by these activities:

Is what interests us most in the blockchain space. Ensuring careful documentation of each step, as it happens, when it happens, how it happens, why it happens, through whom it happens, by what measures it happens, is what gifts us with a treasure trove of TRUTH, which must be digitized, protected from any changes, and immortalized.

Blockchain reduces food source traceability from weeks to 2.5 seconds

That source of TRUTH is blockchain, by technical measures. Which then grants you and I peace of mind, as consumers, or regulators, should anything go wrong, retracing our steps back to the origin, is now a matter of seconds rather than chasing a rabbit hole for weeks or months, to investigate where problems might have

arisen. Did you know that blockchain, when deployed, reduces investigation times into the source of a food item, from weeks into as little as 2.5 seconds?

Yes: a quick scan of a food item that forms part of a blockchain ecosystem, sourced through transparent means, on the decentralized ledger: transports you back to the source of origin. Lifting the curtain on how that food item was sourced, and where it was sourced (provenance). Which by default: will give future generations and present ones with the guaranteed knowledge of where their potatoes and other crops come from. That truth: causes all stakeholders to live with a clear conscience in front of all citizens, that they are protecting Kenya’s best interest, always. No doubt.

By now: you are perhaps grasping my appreciation for the humble potato, the power of data, and the capabilities blockchain brings to solving African problems. Previous industrializations: which saw some established multinationals preferring their procurement to deal exclusively with one or two major processors or large-scale producers, no longer have room in our African economies. Blockchain is a team sport, and therefore by default of deployment into a specific trade framework involves all relevant players at varying degrees of involvement, as deemed relevant.

The specific build of each blockchain framework however, or addition of such a framework, to existing systems will always depend on what is scoped by the team involved in planning, co-creating and scoping such a blockchain deployment. An article discussion for another day. In the same token however: the responsibilities placed on the shoulders of producers, processors, retailers, restaurants as they relate to ensuring food safety, quality standards and benchmarks cannot be overlooked nor taken for granted, in any measure.

In this regard: consistent efforts to better what is, towards the future we want and the Africa we want, is an endeavor we should all strive for, leveraging what’s available.

In conclusion:

As a villager myself: I was part of the last generation of small-scale farmers who lived off the ground, during my upbringing. I am privileged to have been born in a village positioned squarely on the path of one of South Africa’s thriving potato growing hubs, the plight of these Kenyan farmers got to me. With notable peak outputs back in the 80s, and visible exports to date into the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the Middle East, etc. My long-standing fondness for this particular crop

goes far back as you can see, and yes, potatoes continue to make regular appearances at my family’s dinner table, on a weekly basis.

In this regard: I am grateful for the way technology has already played a powerful unifying role in a form of social media, amplifying the long-standing plight to address the injustices experienced by each and every one of those Kenyan farmers. To have food taken out of your mouth for 10 years is no child’s play. Such an exclusion should have never taken place: intentionally or otherwise.

Blockchain to that effect is more than a technology but a means to end, towards realizing the Africa we want. A tool at our disposal towards the realization of the future we want, and the Kenya we want. Be on the lookout for my team and I as we continue on our Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement aligned travel: advocating for and implementing blockchain interventions that are fitting to the uniqueness of each terrain pain-point across the localities on our path and sectoral challenges.

Next time you grab a box of fries: hopefully, you reflect briefly about where they could have come from, and more so, be on the lookout for visibilities we are fast tracking to deploy into each of these segment priorities, to help better your experience.