The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (MINAGRI) has embarked on new ways to improve fertiliser application to various types of soils.

The comes in response to concerns by famers and agricultural activists over the use of the same fertilisers to different soils, which the affected parties say affects productivity.

In an interview this week, Tony Nsanganira, the minister of state for agriculture, said that different soils needed different nutrients and that the previous approach was not giving intended yield as it did not respond to the issue.

"A given type of soil should get appropriate fertilisers. This requires a proper blending of nitrogen, phosphorus and other components so that a given type of soil gets required nourishment for it to give the desired yield,” he said.

He told Saturday Times that this year, a consortium of private investors will set up a factory that will be blending fertilisers and nutrients to help meet the need.

"It will be done such that depending on the nature of the soil, people could bring various raw materials and blend them and be applied to soil based on its type, instead of having the same fertiliser applied to different types of soils,” he noted.

Nsanganira added that there will also be mobile devices to gather data on the type of soil components that will inform the production of the appropriate fertiliser.

He said the Yara International ASA, a Norwegian chemical company whose major business area is production of nitrogen fertilisers, had recently started operations in Rwanda where it will have a fertiliser distribution chain.

The move will help farmers get easy and rapid access to fertilisers and would facilitate fertiliser blending within the country for increased use and agriculture yield.

Chantal Uwamahoro, a farmer from Gitesi Sector in Karongi District, said lack of knowledge about the type of soil and the amount of fertilisers to apply was a challenge for farmers.

"The identification of appropriate fertilisers for each type of soil will increase both quantity and quality of agricultural produce,” she said.

Deal for fertiliser production

Meanwhile, MINAGRI has signed contracts with eight private fertiliser producing firms that will import and distribute 45,000 metric tonnes of subsidised fertilisers to farmers starting next year. 

The value of the fertilisers at the farm gate without subsidies is worth over Rwf30.3 billion. 

This quantity has increased from an average of 32,000 metric tonnes per year since 2012, which was used on a narrow range of crops (maize, wheat, Irish potatoes and rice).

Dr Charles Murekezi, the coordinator of fertiliser programme at MINAGRI, said the target for 2016 represents an increase of 40 per cent, which is due to the government’s decision to add beans, soya beans, cassava, bananas, vegetables and fruits to the list of crops targeted with subsidised fertilisers under the crop intensification programme.  

The total fertiliser subsidy in 2016 will amount to Rwf7.9 billion, which represents, on average, 26 per cent of the total value of the fertiliser at the farm gate.

"It will support the improvement of food as well as nutritional security in the country.  In addition, this approach will help improve farmers’ incomes by diversifying the crops they can grow for a competitive market,” Murekezi noted.

The eight companies were selected based on their reputation of previous supply of fertilisers in Rwanda and the region. 

The companies are ETS Birahagwa, Top Services Ltd, ETS Nkubili and Balton Rwanda. Others are Export Trading Company, Tubura/One Acre Fund, Yara Rwanda and Nyiombo Investments.  

Fertilises are mostly imported from China, the Baltic, the Gulf and the East African region (Dar es Salaam, Mombasa and Nairobi).  

Currently, fertiliser ceiling price per kilogramme with subsidies is Rwf390 for ureak, 465 for DAP and 540 for NPK 17:17:17.

Subsidies were introduced by government in 2007 to make fertilisers affordable to farmers and, thus, increase their production per acreage. 

NPK fertilisers are currently subsidised by 15 per cent, DAP at 35 per cent, while that of UREA stands at 30 per cent.

Agriculture accounts for a third of Rwanda’s GDP and generates more than 70 per cent of the country’s export revenues.  The sector also employs the majority populace.