Ruth Mukarugina, her husband and three children live in Kavura Village, Rwamagana District in Eastern Province.

Before she got married in 2010, the idea of growing maize for commercial purposes was not tempting because of the burdensome harvest and low prices, stated by some of the people who grew the crops for sale.

Like many others in the region, Mukarugina only grew maize for home consumption.

Maria Theresa Mukandayisenga (right) a farmer in KODUIBI. Photo by Kelly Rwamapera

"Maize farming was complicated; it involved harvesting and carrying it home, drying it and removing it from the cob, and then there was also the low prices when selling,” she says.

In 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) raised awareness on using drying shelters, citing the risk of health hazards if not done properly, among other things. However, in Eastern Province, drying shelters were only adopted in 2018.

With this, the harvested maize is taken directly to the shelters that are constructed near the farmlands. Thereafter, buyers find the maize dried under good conditions and it is sold at premium prices.

Ruth Mukarugina attends to the maize for sale. 

"Maize farming no longer requires the hustle of carrying cobs from farmland to homes and drying them in dusty courtyards, or staying home to watch for rain,” Mukarugina says.

The price of the maize cobs that are dried at the shelters is now almost triple what it used to be—from Rwf80 to Rwf235 per kilo.

Implemented in Eastern Province

Epiphanie Umurerwa and Agnes Umurerwa are presidents of Mugesera Maize Growers (KODUIBI) in Ngoma District and Nyagasenyi Maize Growers (KOHUNYA) cooperatives in Rwamagana District, Eastern Province, respectively.

The women partnered with MINAGRI last year, creating awareness about contaminated maize and calling to farmers to use drying shelters to keep maize safe for consumption.

"As mothers, we were concerned to learn that mismanaged maize contains moulds and aflatoxin (poisonous carcinogens that are produced by certain moulds which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains) which could lead to cancer,” they say, adding that with this, they started mobilising other women to turn to maize farming using the new harvest technique of drying shelters.

In 2018, MINAGRI trained several cooperative leaders on how to make drying shelters and also took them to a field study tour in Gisagara, Southern Province, where the use of drying shelters started earlier in 2014.

"Last year was the first time we earned Rwf187 per kilo of maize, moreover with the cobs. We used to sell maize removed from the cobs at Rwf80 a kilo,” says Maria Theresa Mukandayisenga, a farmer with KODUIBI cooperative.

KODUIBI grows maize at 80 hectares where they get more than 500 tons of maize which means more than six tons per hectare.

KOHUNYA, a cooperative in Rwamagana of 69 members, 54 of whom are women, produces 50 tons on average per season from 11 hectares.

Currently, buyers such as African Improved Food (AIF) and Minimex, buy maize from farmers at Rwf187 (with corn on the cobs) or at Rwf230 to 270 for grain only, per kilo.

Partners

Innocent Ukizuru, the agriculture officer at Rwamagana District and his counterpart Viateur Niyonzima at Mugesera Sector in Ngoma District, say that women cooperatives are the leading maize growers in the areas.

"Women used to do subsistence farming, but after harvest tasks for maize growers were levelled, there are many women doing commercial agriculture and they produce a lot of maize,” says Ukizuru.

Benard Banamwana, the senior relationship manager at AIF, says the factory is importing more maize compared to the time before introduction of drying shelters.

At first the factory would receive only 20 per cent of the 28000 tons they need a year, but currently, we expect more than 60 per cent of the maize we need from cooperatives,” he says.

He adds that they decided to take the corn on the cobs to avoid burdening women with taking the corn off the cobs. Alternatively, corn removing machines are also available.

Mukarugina expects a ton of maize from which she makes over Rwf200, 000, while Mukandayisenga at Mugesera expects two tons.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com