Soya farmers in Kayonza District have incurred losses as floods destroyed over 30 hectares of plantations.

The floods resulted from the heavy rains that poured on Saturday, April 23, 2022.

Overall, data from the Ministry of Emergency Preparedness (MINEMA) indicate that Saturday's downpour destroyed 49 hectares of crops in Kayonza District.

Farmers, grouped in KOISORWA, a cooperative of maize and soya farmers in Rwakabanda, marshland of Murindi sector were expecting to harvest 70 tonnes of soybeans in June, from which they could get Rwf70 million, as a kilogramme goes for Rwf1,000, according to Saver Bahizi, the cooperative president.

 "Soya is a lucrative crop these days. But because of floods, we have counted losses on our Rwf12 million investment that we had already invested in growing the crop,” Bahizi told The New Times, and called for support to help deal with the losses.

"We will not be able to get money to invest in the next farming season. We need support [on inputs such as seeds and fertilisers],” he said.  

Meanwhile, the cooperative had no insurance cover for their crops.

Bahizi said that floods of such magnitude have never been experienced in their area before, suggesting that it might be a result of climate change.

Going forward, he said crop insurance will be their top priority.

"Farming before getting insurance for our crop would be a last resort. It is something we badly need now because it assures us of protection from future losses,” he said.

According to information from the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal resource, soya is not among crops covered by the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme.

However, The New Times was informed that the Ministry was planning to add it to the list of crops eligible for insurance, with the crop expected to be under coverage starting September this year.

Cyprien Muhayimana, Director of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Kayonza District told The New Times, "there is a need for farmers to have agriculture insurance for their crops in order to be cushioned against future losses."

Meanwhile, he said that other soya plantations will not be affected as they are mainly located on hillsides.

Soya, a much needed legume

Muhayimana said that farmers have been encouraged to grow soya due to the increasing prices, with a kilogramme going for Rwf1, 000 currently.

Before, he said, a farmer would get around Rwf300 for a kilogramme of soya, which was discouraging.

Talking about factors that have driven up its prices, he cited the fact that it is needed by factories and for both human and animal consumption, as it is one of the key ingredients in animal feed production.

He also said that soya was grown on about 1,200 hectares in Kayonza per year, of which some 500 consist of consolidated land.

In regards to average productivity, he said that it is two tonnes per hectare. This implies that the annual soya production in the district is estimated at 2,400 tonnes.

Kayonza, one of the top soya producers in Rwanda, is home to Mount Meru Soyco Ltd – a factory processing cooking oil from soya– and the district has some shares in it.  

Muhayimana said that the factory has capacity of processing 150 tonnes of soya per day, adding that it largely relies on imports as the local supply is far short of its capacity.