The Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) are mulling ways for effective production and distribution of disease-free cassava varieties to farmers to ensure improved crop yields in both quality and quantity.

The move follows the issue of Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD), which for about two years, has ravaged the crop in parts of the country, particularly the Southern Province, the country’s biggest cassava producer.

The disease left some farmers opting for other crops but remained worried about their food security.

The new plan was announced on Thursday during a cassava stakeholders’ meeting in Huye District.

The meeting sought to chart ways on how cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), locally known as ‘Kabore’, and other threats to the crop can be contained.

Disease-free cuttings

The participants also sought ways to distribute disease-free cassava cuttings to farmers.

The meeting brought together officials from RAB and FAO, local leaders, agronomists both at the district and sector levels in six districts from the Southern Province and two (Bugesera and Kirehe) in Eastern Province, the private sector as well as representatives for cassava farmers and cooperatives.

In February, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and RAB, with support from FAO, distributed more than seven million CBSD tolerant cassava cuttings, which were to be grown on 723 hectares of farmland in the country’s 12 districts by 272 seed multipliers. 

Cuttings from plantains

This was part of an emergency response to contain the spread of CBSD in Rwanda.

Dr Telesphore Ndabamenye, the head of crop production and food security at RAB, said they expect to get 100 million cassava cuttings from the already planted seven million once they are harvested in November and December, which could be grown on 35,000 hectares of farm land in 2015/2016 season A.

In season B, the acreage is set to increase to 80,000 hectares.

"We are thinking about how to make it accessible to more farmers after considering the views from multiplier farmers so we can grow it on at least 35,000 hectares in the districts devastated by Kabore,” he said.

Félicien Simpunga, a farmer in Kinazi Sector, Ruhango District, said the NASE 14 cassava variety was responding well and promising in terms of yield.

However, Simpunga said it would be better if they could get some money commensurate to the investment they made, rather than distributing the variety to other farmers free of charge.

"I invested Rwf12 million to multiply cassava on seven hectares of land. Now I have weeded four times, so it would be unfair for me to give the variety cost-free,” he said.

The Ruhango vice mayor for finance and economic affairs, Epimaque Twagirimana, said there should be better ways of working with farmers and to monitor cassava growth and distribution, which would also solve frequent cassava diseases.