Rwanda: Agric. Ministry Calls for Increased Investment in Seed Potato Multiplication to Address Shortage and Meet Market Demand
RAB grows potato seeds in screen houses
The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) has called on investors to join seed potato multiplication in numbers to help address the lack of quality potato seeds and meet the market demand for potatoes.
The call was made on May 30, 2024, during the inaugural celebration of International Day of Potato (IDP) held at the RAB station in MUSANZE District. The UN General Assembly designated May 30 as the International Day of the Potato in December 2023 and Rwanda proactively responded and joined many other countries across the world to celebrate this historic day to appreciate the significance of the potato crop as well as its future potential for food and nutrition security.
Jointly organized by the International Potato Center (CIP) in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), under the theme “Harvesting Diversity, Feeding Hope,” the IDP summoned more than 100 participants to raise awareness of the multiple nutritional and economic importance of potatoes in global agri-food systems.
The participants included representatives from potato farming communities, policymakers, researchers, international organizations, the private sector, and various other stakeholders from the business community.
During the event, potato farming communities expressed immense appreciation of the role that RAB, MINAGRI and the various private sector actors have played in helping farmers increase their harvest through multiple production of quality seed potatoes of improved varieties which are pest and disease-resistant and more productive over a short time. However, they reiterated the huge gap that still needs to be addressed in growing and managing potatoes.
Drocelle Uwimpuhwe, a potato farmer based in Gataraga Sector, Musanze District, said, “We thank RAB and its partners for giving us well-researched advise and for providing more productive potato seeds. In my community, we grow SEKA (a Kinyarwanda name that translates to Laugh), ICYEREKEZO (Vision), Kazeneza (Welcome), and NDAMIRA (Save Me). Out of these seeds, ICYEREKEZO (Vision) has been more productive, where we often harvest 22 tons per hectare.”
Further, she said “Growing potatoes has helped us afford to pay the school fees of our children. Potatoes have been the main source of the family’s income. Among the crops we feed on; potatoes take the lead,”
Again, Vincent Hakuzimana, a potato farmer and potato seed multiplier based in Gicumbi District, presented a lack of enough certified potato seeds as a hindrance to the increase of potato yield. “We have a large number of farmers asking for certified potato seeds, but we only have a few seeds. We ask RAB to help potato seed multipliers get enough seeds to satisfy the market all over the country,” Vincent requested.
Speaking about the lack of potato seeds, Dr. Patrick Karangwa, Director General for Agriculture Modernization at MINAGRI, requested investors to join hands with already existing players in the agriculture sector to help address the issue, emphasizing a huge return provided by the agri-business sector.
“We are calling on the private sector to invest in seed potato multiplication because it is a business with massive profits. They should expand business beyond the Northern Province to other districts. Additionally, seed potato multipliers should work hand in hand with banks, exploiting available opportunities on multiple projects to grow their potato farms,” Dr. Patrick revealed.
Dr. Patrick added that ideal potato farming is not traditional but modernized, where investors are modernized in knowledge, investment, banking systems, insurance, and growing cash crops.
During the same event, the CIP’s Country representative in Rwanda, Dr. Dinah Borus, said that celebrating the IPD is important because potatoes feed the world and Rwanda in particular.
“We are celebrating the International Day of the Potato, which is a crop that is consumed by many people not only in Rwanda but also all over the world. We celebrate this crop because it’s a crop that feeds families, communities, schools and many countries across the globe. It is in every meal, the men. Women, youth and children all love potatoes. The population, and the urban people require potatoes, so we celebrate to raise awareness on the importance of this crop in terms of food, nutrition and also the economic importance of the crop,” Dr. Borus said.
Ildephonse Niragire, the Director of the Farm Products and Processes Inspection Unit, Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA), which ensures the protection and promotion of basic consumer rights as well as safeguarding health competition among enterprises, urged farmers to remain watchful and vigilant that they get quality potato seeds and potato seed multipliers to always get a return on their investments.
Meanwhile, RAB is committed to researching quality potato seeds that are resistant to climate change, diseases, and pests, favorable seeds as per region, and productive for a short period of time. “We were not left behind as RAB. The amazing journey we have is research. We have shown you the recent 11 varieties of seeds already established and flourishing at our station, and the research progress continues,”
According to FAOSTAT, the per capita consumption of potatoes in Rwanda stands at over 60 kg placing Rwanda among the top consumers of potatoes in AFRICA. Belarus in Europe is the highest consumer globally that is two times more than in Rwanda. The nutritional benefits, the high productivity per time, per unit area, and per litre of water make potato, a crop of choice.
