Farmers have been urged to embrace modern agriculture practices to improve output and earn more from their efforts. 

Dr Geraldine Mukeshimana, the Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, also urged farmers and other sector stakeholders to add value to their produce, saying it is one of the ways through which they can reduce post-harvest losses.

Mukeshimana made the remarks recently while touring agricultural infrastructure projects being developed in Bugesera District, including a multimillion produce storage facility.

The facility, with the capacity to hold more than 6,000 tonnes, is expected to reduce losses by 30 per cent when completed.

The minister called on farmers in Bugesera and neighbouring districts to take advantage of the facility and increase production so that the warehouse is utilised maximally.

According to Michael Ngarambe, the project manager, the facility is one of the strategic storage reserves being built in different parts of the country. There are similar facilities in Nyagatare, Kigali, and Rubavu districts under a $2 million programme funded by the African Development Bank.

He said the Bugesera warehouse will be used for maize storage. Construction started in 2013 and is expected to be completed in December this year, he noted.

More than 10 per cent of the agricultural produce is lost along the value chain due to poor post-harvest handling, according to figures from the agriculture ministry. This affects farmer’s profitability and household incomes thus undermining efforts toward poverty reduction.

Jean Pier Ngabonziza, a farmer in Bugesera District, said the access to storage facilities is a big challenge, adding that the new facility in the district will facilitate farmers to add value to their produce and make more money.

"Lack of modern storage facilities is still a challenge for farmers. It is, therefore, important that for farmers to increase production, measures should be put in place to ensure their produce does not go to waste,” Ngabonziza said.

Agriculture remains the country’s biggest employer, with about 72.2 per cent of the population engaged in the sector, according to latest statistics from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda.

Government and stakeholders have been training farmers under the post-harvest management programme to reduce the numbers.

So far more than 2,000 farmers have received this kind of training, according to Innocent Musabyimana, the Agriculture and Animal Resources permanent secretary.

Musabyimana said the ministry will continue sensitising farmers to embrace modern farming methods so that they are able to increase production, as well as reduce losses along the value chain.

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