Meru county government has helped Potato farmers in forming cooperative union aimed at promoting value addition and increasing earnings through regulation of the staple crop. The initiative is meant to introduce the coffee cooperative model in potato farming. Meru executive for Agriculture Prof KarwithaKiugu said more than 7,000 farmers from various parts of the county had formed societies. The union will promote the production of potatoes of the processing variety in the county. We are starting with the Jelly variety as well as potato seed production, Prof Karwitha said. During the launch, the cooperative members received certified Jelly potato seed from the county government. "We want the potato farmers to join hands through the Union and set up a processing plant in Meru. We will support the union because it is meant to give farmers power. We shall work together with the union to end the sale of potatoes in extended bags," Meru governor Kiraitu Murungi said. Prof Karwitha said the county is set to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a potato processing facility. County executive for Trade, Investment, Industrialization, Tourism and Cooperatives Maingi Mugambi said the union is meant to end the exploitation of farmers by brokers. The union is also expected to address the shortage of certified seeds that has bedevilled the sector affecting production. The potato sector has not been organized and our intention is to give farmers a voice through societies. As a group, they can address the challenges of marketing, access to inputs and productivity. As a cooperative, farmers will be able to bulk their produce and utilize cold storage facilities for better prices, Mr Mugambi said. Potatoes can be stored in cold stores for up to six months. He said they were borrowing from coffee and milk sectors where farmers are able to access bigger markets through cooperatives. The society will be responsible for production, grading, bulking and cold storage facilities while the union will look for markets, the county executive said. He said the county government has already identified land for cold storage facilities and a processing plant in Timau. Meru County Potato Cooperative Union chairman Chris Marete said seven Cooperative Societies had been formed namely ShirikiViazi in Kisima, Nkuene, Timau, Kibirichia, Meru Tamu, Abogeta West and Abothuguchi West wards. The cooperatives received six trucks of certified potato seed. According to data from the county agriculture department, Meru farmers produced 136,020 tonnes of potatoes valued at more than Sh5.193 billion in 2016. There are 15,173 hectares of land under potato production in the county. This makes potato among the leading income earner in Meru after Tea, Miraa and Coffee.