Irish potato dealers who operate the recently established collection centres have said that the company which was contracted to manage the distribution chain has started breaching the contract, just months after the mechanism was set up to streamline the industry.

Through the new arrangement, the collection centres, which were set up in different sites to collect the produce from farms, are supposed to supply the produce through a company, Regional Potato Trading (RPT) Ltd, which then handles the distribution.

The new system, which was launched in November, was initiated to address the challenge of exploitation that farmers faced at the hands of middlemen, especially during bumper seasons, where these middlemen, commonly known as ‘Abamamyi’, often manipulated the market.

Under the system, no produce should be sold without being taken to collection centres.

But farmers and collection centre managers say this has not worked as they still struggle to sell the produce and the price is not stable and they don’t have any specific channel through which their produce is sold.

They say, they are counting losses and appeal for Regional Potato Trading to revise the system and help collection managers sell the produce in an easy and beneficial way.

Daniel Habimana, who heads one of the Irish potato collection centres in Burera District, faulted the company for not managing the distribution chain as it should, which leaves the centres with the burden of having to transport the produce all the way to Kigali.

He said that taking the produce to Kigali from the collection centres leads to losses, and that the ‘‘disorganisation only creates unnecessary flooding of the market,’’ leading them to sell their produce at throw-away prices.

"The system is not yet working properly, we don’t sell produce as planned and we are only counting losses more than even before,” said Félicien Semarembo, a farmer and collection centre manager in Burera.

"We buy the produce from fields at a price that favours the farmer but when we bring it to Kigali, we do not find any organised chain in place through which the produce can be sold. We end up making losses,” he said.

According to Semarembo, the price per kilogramme from the field is between Rwf150 and Rwf 160 for potatoes from Kinigi area, while others are bought at Rwf130 but he says that because of the poor distribution chain, they end up selling at lower prices.

Semarembo added that a kilogramme of potatoes in Kigali is sold at between Rwf140 and Rwf170 depending on which type and that the margin is just Rwf10 on a kilogramme, which leaves one with no profit when transport is factored in.

"Farmers and collection centre managers have agreed on the system and we are working together properly, RPT should also work with distributors in Kigali to harmonise the prices so that we don’t lose out. Nobody is against the system but organisation is needed,” said Habimana.

Farmers also said RPT and other concerned parties should work on accrediting traders who are allowed to carry the potatoes to Kigali as some people still buy them illegally.

However, some dealers who work with RPT say the root cause of the problem is the existence of middlemen or brokers between collection centres and buyers and call upon the company to streamline its activities to ensure efficiency.

Aloys Mbaraga, a potato dealer from Kigali, says the system, if well implemented, would create a win-win for all, adding that the inefficiency has only led to the resurgence of middlemen.

"Regional Potato Trading Ltd should put in place a mechanism to monitor the entire distribution chain from the farmers to the final consumer, if the system is to work,” said Mbaraga, adding that there was a need for a legal framework to protect the interest of all parties involved.

Emmanuel Ufitingabire, the Country Director of Regional Potato Trading, said that all stakeholders should know their responsibilities to ensure effective distribution chain of Irish potatoes and pledged to introduce more technologies to avail reliable information about all dealers.

He said that RPT does not fix the price but helps concerned parties agree on ways to do business that favours everyone.

"Our part is to harmonise the value chain but farmers and collection centres are the ones to agree, we are working on ways to improve the business and hopefully by January things will be sorted,” he said.

Francois Kanimba, the Minister for Trade and Industry acknowledged that the potato trading system has not yet met the expectations of farmers and said a legal framework stipulating clearly the role of each party along the chain will solve the problem.

"Despite tremendous progress in potato trading and efficiency of collection centres, farmers are not yet served effectively. Concerned players are requested to speed up service delivery by setting monthly schedules to ensure proper monitoring,” he said.

Northern and Western provinces are the main producers of Irish potatoes in the country. There are over 120 collection centres in place.

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