For years, Dedza’s Irish potato farmers have replanted their own harvest as seed — a common but costly practice that let bacterial wilt and viral degeneration cut yields to as little as 12 t/ha.
A 2025 pilot led by the Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS) in partnership with three Dedza cooperatives has changed that. Farmers received certified ‘seed A’ tubers of the Kunda variety produced at the Bvumbwe Research Station, together with training on hilling, blight management and phased planting for cold-season markets.
The result: pilot farmers averaged 24 t/ha at the end of the 2026 season, more than double their pre-pilot average. The best-managed plots pushed past 30 t/ha. At Dedza Boma prices, that lift translates to about MWK 2.4M per hectare in extra revenue.
DARS is now working with two more districts — Ntcheu and Neno — to replicate the model. AgriConnect will publish the full agronomic protocol and cost-benefit worksheet in the **Resources** library so extension officers and other cooperatives can adopt the approach without waiting for a formal rollout.