A new project expected to improve banana production through providing highly productive plantlets and impart the needed farming skills to farmers has been launched to address the issue of low yields of produce.

This project, which was launched Tuesday, will target five districts; Gisagara, Muhanga, Karongi, Rwamagana and Rubavu.

Under the two-year project, about 60,000 improved banana variety suckers will be distributed through Twigire Muhinzi – an agriculture extension model – whereby some farmers and seed multipliers will plant them to produce more to be passed on to others.

It is being implemented through a partnership between the Government and the Food and Agricultural Organisation.

Experts in banana crop subsector argue that production in Rwanda is still facing several threats ranging from diseases such as the destructive banana bacterial wilt (locally known as ‘Kirabiranya’) and pests invasion to limited skills and knowledge by farmers to detect and manage these pests and diseases.

Other challenges include limited availability of high yielding and pest/disease tolerant varieties, poor soil fertility and poor banana husbandry practices.

The traditional varieties could produce between two to five kilogrammes of banana, which was occupying a lot of land but with no satisfactory yields, Charles Murekezi, Director General for agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources said during the launch of the project.

The varieties to be distributed under this initiative include Fhia 17 and Fhia 25 and distribution is set to start next month.

A farmer, Murekezi explained, will be able to harvest about 60 tonnes of banana per hectare annually if they grow improved variety and apply good farming practices.

"The selected districts of intervention have traditional banana varieties which are less productive and they need improvement in line with yield, food security and having surplus for the market,” Murekezi said.

COOPABU Nzige – a banana farmers’ cooperative based in Nzige Sector, Rwamagana District – has a banana plantation covering 50 hectares.

Out of these, about 40 hectares need improvement, according to its head, Faustin Twagirayezu.

"There are varieties that produce only about 10 kilogrammes per tree. If they are replaced with high-yield varieties, that would be a great boost to farmers,” he said, adding that this will mean farmers will not only have enough to eat but also to take the surplus to the market.

FAO Country Representative to Rwanda Gualbert Gbehounou said that they want farmers to be competitive and, to achieve this, they need highly productive banana varieties.

"We hope that farmers who will benefit from these improved varieties will also hand over or give suckers to other farmers, and probably the whole region, the whole community will be able to enjoy these improved varieties,” Gbehounou said.

Cooking banana accounts for over 40% of banana plantation in Rwanda and the crop continues to get more importance in Rwandans’ diet compared to other staple crops such as sweet potatoes and cassava, according to Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB).

Overall, the banana subsector covers about 23% of the entire cultivated land in Rwanda, estimated at 900,000 hectares.

Banana improvement initiative in Rwanda started in 2005 and, so far, covers an estimated 30,000 hectares, Murekezi said.

Rwanda produced over 759,690 tonnes of cooking banana this year down from over 724,540 tonnes in 2017, show figures from MINAGRI.

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