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POTATO PRODUCTION IN RWANDA

The Irish potato is one of Rwanda’s most significant crops and the sixth-largest producer of potatoes in Africa. Despite becoming successful, small farmers and food businesses competitors seeking opportunities in the domestic and regional markets, enter the value chain with difficulty. To let them go, The African Roots and Tuber Project under FAO of United Nations aimed to: Boost and intensify output driven by markets that are sustainable. Support farmers’ cooperatives; Enhance accessibility Regarding instruments for managing climate change risk and to financial resources; Establish business models across the entire value chain, and which businesses and farmers are essential. The Irish potato is one of Rwanda’s most significant crops and one of the six priority crops listed by the government under the Crop Intensification Program (CIP). From 2,240,000 tons per year in 2013 to 6,000,000 tons per year in 2019, Rwanda produced more Irish potatoes. This was done by the nation by increasing yields while increasing the production area from 130,000 ha in 2010 to 200,000 ha. The key pillars of the government’s Irish potato strategy are: Strengthening the national potato research program; Large scale multiplication of quality potato seeds; Organisation of the seed market, advisory services to seed producers and potato farmers; Development of post-harvest and value-adding activities for the Irish potato. All around the nation, potatoes are grown. Over 60% of the production, however, is attributed to four districts in the northwest. There are two growth seasons: one that lasts from late August to early February and the other that lasts from late February to early July. Irish potatoes are a lucrative crop, but farmers do not invest in high-quality seeds, either because they lack working capital or because they cannot get premium seeds. Better agronomic techniques must be used in conjunction with improved varieties to maximize profitability (proper rotation, use of fertilisers and pesticides). There is virtually little production of Irish potato seeds of approved quality (2 percent of total planted seeds). Due to poor farmer demand, a lack of pre-basic and basic seeds available for multiplication, and import limitations on pre-basic and basic seeds for the private sector, the private sector is hardly ever involved. The Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) is currently involved in seed potato production and quality monitoring. The majority of participants concur that the new seed law should distinguish between these two responsibilities and strive for a significant private sector involvement in certified seed production. Value chain connections, financial accessibility, and tools for managing climate risk Because there isn’t enough storage space in the producing zones, farmers must immediately sell their whole produce to avoid losses, which lowers the price of Irish potatoes during harvest. Nevertheless, some storage space is being underutilized. Farmers sometimes prefer to sell privately, therefore member cooperatives have difficulty managing their collecting centers. The producing zones’ potato processing sector is still extremely young, with just two new medium-sized processors (Holland Fair Foods in Musanze and Nyabihu Potato Company in Nyabihu). All of these processing projects are given assistance to plan their smallholder cooperative purchases. In Kigali’s wholesale market, potatoes are delivered at night for the fresh market and sold repeatedly from trader to trader with little value addition, such as bulking and sorting.