Cassava virus dents farmers hopes

Vital Rwibasira secured a Rwf22 million bank loan and invested it in a hitherto lucrative venture, cassava growing. The resident of Kinazi Sector, Ruhango District expected to reap big and improve his livelihood. But as fate would have it, his plantation was invaded by brown streak disease, locally known as Kabore, dashing Twibasira’s hopes. When he secured a Rwf22 million bank loan and invested it in cassava growing, Vital Twibasira thought he was investing in a goldmine. The resident of Kinazi Sector, Ruhango District used the money and some of his savings to purchase high quality cuttings, and fertilisers to ensure high yields. He cultivated over 40 hectares of cassava, expecting to harvest hundreds of tonnes. And, indeed, as his crops grew, all looked well, raising his expectations for even higher production.But once his cassava started maturing, he realised something strange; leaves started turning yellow, cassava stems started drying up and the tubers started rotting. Concerned and perplexed, he sought the advice of agriculture experts who informed him that his plantation had been attacked by brown streak disease (CBSD), locally known as Kabore.Rwibasira says he later learnt that he was not the only one affected after discovering that the disease had spread to almost all the plantations in his area. CBSD is a devastating disease that causes poor cassava root (tuber) production and rotting of the tubers, rendering the cassava inedible. The disease has affected farmers mainly in the southern districts of Kamonyi, Ruhango and Nyanza. In Ruhango alone, about 80 per cent of the 14,000 hectares of cassava have been decimated, while in the neighbouring Kamonyi District, the viral disease has affected about 90 per cent of cassava plantations. Parts of Nyanza District, particularly in the hot Amayaga regions, have also been affected. “Growing cassava was a profitable business until this disease attacked our plantations.We have suffered huge losses, I personally fear for my future,” the commercial farmer says. Vital Rwibasira. (Jean Pierre Bucyensenge) Rwibasira says he was able to salvage a few tonnes of cassava that he later sold and added personal savings to pay back his bank loan as he feared his other properties could be seized and auctioned. “I had to use my personal savings to pay back the loan I had acquired. I am left with almost nothing,” he says. But not everyone was that ‘lucky’. After acquiring a Rwf16 million loan from the Rwanda Development Bank (BRD), Jean Bosco Rekeraho also invested in cassava production. Having grown up in an area known to be suitable for cassava growing, the resident of Busoro Sector in Nyanza District saw the investment as a highly profitable venture. But the outbreak of the disease has since left him counting losses. “We are left with no capacity to pay back the loans and I fear we will soon be considered loan defaulters,” he says. “The disease has ruined our investment and shattered our dreams.” Francois Hitimana is another affected farmer who had planted 15 hectares of cassava. He says they are now looking to government for support to “recover from the huge loss caused by the deadly disease”. “Our lives have been dependant on growing cassava. It has been our source of food and income to support our families. Even people from other parts of the country used to come here to work on our plantations. But all that is now gone because of this disease,” a distraught Hitimana says as he disappointedly looks at his large plantation. “We hear the only alternative is to uproot and destroy our crops. In the future, we may face serious food shortage,” he said. Residents say they started realising widespread signs of the disease late last year and informed authorities. But it is only this year that its effects were really felt as the harvesting time reached.They say the affected cassava had been provided by the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) through its network of contractual private businesses and cooperatives. “We expected huge benefits but instead made losses,” says Jean Baptiste Gakwaya, another Ruhango farmer who had invested Rwf6 million in cassava growing. He appealed to the government to avail farmers with disease-free cassava cuttings. “That would allow us to grow more cassava and cover up for the loss we have incurred,” Rwibasira says. A farmer desperately looks at the tubers affected by the disease. (Jean Pierre Bucyensenge) Loan dilemma Many of the farmers who spoke to The New Times said they had acquired bank loans, mainly from BRD. The farmers now say they are struggling to pay back the money and even some fear their properties might be attached and auctioned as a result. Information from BRD indicates that the bank is still owed over Rwf400 million that it had loaned out to the cassava farmers. Emmanuel Murangayisa, the bank’s Director of Finance, says the bank was forced to agree on a new repayment schedule with the farmers. He says the farmers were given an extention period of between six and 12 months depending on individual capacity. But the farmers say the extension is insufficient as they have no alternative sources of income. Farmer Rekeraho says, after the extension, he is expected to have cleared his loan by December, something he says is difficult. The farmers particularly bemoan the lack of quality varieties to replace the ‘dying’ cassava and reduce on the disastrous effects of the disease. Feeling the impact While on a recent visit to Ruhango District, Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi, instructed Rab to speed up research to develop a disease-free and CSBD-resistant cassava variety that would be distributed to farmers to avert the impact of the viral cassava disease. But the new variety will only be available in a period of between 12 and 24 months as researchers will have to develop it and test it to see if it matches Rwanda’s soils and climate. In the meantime, farmers will have to grow other crops, mainly maize and beans, which they say are less profitable. Authorities say they have no other choice now but to battle the viral disease. Ruhango District, for instance, had to significantly reduce its target on cassava from the earlier envisaged 14,000 hectares to only 4,000 hectares, according to the district mayor, Francois Xavier Mbabazi. The effects of the disease on the district are already being felt and there are fears that they might worsen as the disease has affected a major staple and commercial crop in the district, the mayor says. “We are devising strategies to ensure that our residents do not face the risk of hunger,” the mayor says. “We are in talks with the Ministry of Agriculture to see what strategies can work better,” he adds. There are also fears the disease will affect the production of the Ruhango-based Kinazi cassava plant which heavily relies on cassava harvest from Ruhango, Kamonyi and Nyanza districts. The plant, with capacity to process six tonnes of raw cassava per hour, has already been operating at a limited capacity of 40 per cent due to insufficient production. “Now that production has been affected by the disease, our production capacity is likely to decrease,” says Cryspin Birasa, the plant’s production manager. “We hope authorities will come up with a timely solution to avert the disease’s impact,” he adds. Cassava brown streak disease was first reported in neighbouring countries, including Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. It was first noticed in the country in 2009, after farmers received improved cassava varieties, according to officials. This suggests the disease might have come as a result of contaminated cuttings that were distributed to farmers. In a recent interview, the Minister for Agriculture, Dr Geraldine Mukeshimana, told The New Times that a lot is being done to help farmers whose plantations were devastated by the disease. This includes helping them get cassava cuttings that are free from the viral disease and developing new varieties. But she conceded that some of the efforts might not offer immediate solutions to farmers, suggesting that the impact of the disease will continue to be felt.

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Cassava virus dents farmers hopes