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Field Study Rwanda 2004The potato farming system in Rwanda. Proposals for research and development actions in the Gisenyi and Ruhengeri ProvincesHost partner: Forum des Organisations Rurales de Ruhengeri (FOR) Other partners/Stakeholders: URUGAGA IMBARAGA (Syndicat national des agriculteurs et éleveurs du Rwanda) – ISAR (Institut Supérieur Agricole du Rwanda) – ROPARWA (Réseau des Organisations Paysannes au Rwanda) Topic: Potato production Location: Gisenyi and Ruhengeri Provinces ICRA Working Document Series number: 122 Context: Tuber plants are largely cultivated in Rwanda, and potato crops have taken on an increasing importance since the beginning of last century. Until the seventies, most varieties came from Europe. Because of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and its consequences, germoplasms have been lost and varieties have degenerated, with a sharp drop in crop yields. Objectives: To improve knowledge of the potato commodity system in Rwanda, with a special emphasis on seed production, to help stakeholders better analyse the present situation and better focus their R&D activities. Outputs: The research team made an in-depth analysis of the problems encountered by potato farmers at the household level, of technologies developed by agricultural research and promoted by extension services and of farm management practices. This resulted in proposals for new research themes that should allow the development of appropriate potato-cropping technologies. Land tenure policy, credit as well as supply of agricultural inputs will be determining factors for technology adoption. Proposals for improvements have been formulated in a logical framework that can guide their implementation by ROPARWA and ISAR.
Team members:
Reviewer: Dr Bertus Wennink (Netherlands), KIT, Consultant Abstract: This is the final report of a field study of the production and marketing chain of consumption potatoes in the provinces of Ruhengeri and Gisyeni in Rwanda. The Network of Farmer Organisations in Rwanda (ROPARWA) and the Rwandan Institute of Agricultural Sciences (ISAR) both have commissioned this study. The aim of the study was to propose improvements for the organisation of the production chain, especially the production and distribution of certified seed material, and to define research activities for potato production systems. The ICRA research team made a stakeholder analysis of the potato chain and, through interviews with farmers made a survey of farmer households in the main potato production zones. As a result the major problems between stakeholders within the potato chain were defined, three potato production zones were distinguished as well as three farming systems. Production zones were defined on the basis of the major cropping systems encountered. Farming systems have been distinguished according to cultivated area by households, land tenure, work force and livestock breeding. The major problems in potato farming have been identified and targeted with regard to the different zones and farming systems. The stakeholder analysis confirmed the existing problems in production and distribution of certified seeds. Interviews allowed the research team to come up with proposals for mechanisms that should enhance collaboration between stakeholders in seed supply. Still the proposed mechanisms will only have a lasting effect if production of certified seeds is privatised and prices for consumption potatoes paid according to the quality of the potatoes. This will be an incentive to pay for quality potatoes and thus stimulate the use of quality certified seeds. Till now prices for consumption potatoes are being fixed at the national level regardless of their quality. |
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Download the full report in French: FS report Rwanda 2004 (jpg, 60K) |
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