New efforts seek to fill gap in fruit production

Frank Ntabana, a resident of Remera in Gasabo, Kigali, is not a happy farmer as he recently failed to clinch a juicy deal to supply mangoes to Inyange Industries. The farmer had been contacted by Inyange to supply them 50 tonnes of mangoes per week, which he couldn’t afford. Ntabana’s experience underlines the problem low fruit production the country is facing currently. This has created a vacuum that has attracted regional suppliers. In fact, mango lovers part with as much as Rwf2,500 per kilograme at the local grocery or in the market, and up to Rwf4,000 per kilo gramme in major supermarkets in town. Local fruit dealers always complain that they incur huge costs to import mangoes and other fruits from neighbouring countries such as Burundi, Tanzania and DR Congo. They claim that there is a scarcity of mangoes. Their frustration is real as more than 8.1 million kilogrammes, worth Rwf2.13 billion of fruits, mangoes inclusive, were imported into the country last year, data from National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) indicates. This compared to 1.9 million kilogrammes of fruits worth Rwf425 million exported in 2013, according to statistics from the National Agricultural Exports Board (Naeb). “We do not get good mangoes from Rwanda; we only get them from Burundi, Uganda and other countries. The few mangoes in Rwanda have a lot of fibre and are small, so we resort to those from abroad,” said Joseph Rukara, a fruit dealer in Kigali City Market. However, this could soon end as Naeb has started a drive to encourage farmers to grow improved mangoes to satisfy local demand and later regional market, according to Epimaque Nsanzabaganwa, the head of the horticulture division at Naeb. “We started this programme sometime back and already some farmers have started harvesting improved mangoes. With increased output from this initiative, we hope to reduce on the deficit and the mango import bill,” he said. Improved varieties Nsanzabaganwa said improved mango varieties are currently being grown in Rusizi, Bugesera, Nyagatare and Rwamagana districts. “We want to avail farmers all across the country with improved mango trees so that we can have enough yield to satisfy local demand,” he said, adding that Naeb plans to give out 200,000 improved mango seedlings to farmers every year. Nsanzabaganwa said they are working with local agronomists and agriculture extension workers to reach more farmers and equip them with the necessary agronomy skills, as well as pest management to ensure high yields and quality in the value chain. Ntabana benefitted from the project in 2010, and has planted 1,600 improved mango trees on his 10-hectare piece of land in Nyagatare District. The farmer got his first harvest in December, last year, and testifies that the mangoes are more delicious and bigger than those imported from neighbouring countries. He said a mango from his farm weighs between 400 grammes and one kilogramme. “So far, I have harvested up to 16 tonnes and I supply all Bourbon Coffee shops operating in the City of Kigali,” he said. “Inyange Industries wanted me to supply them 50 tonnes of mangoes per week, but I failed since my plantation is small.” Ntabana said he used to supply Bourbon Coffee mangoes at Rwf1,400 a kilogramme from December to March, 2014. However, he was not lucky as his crop was attacked by a viral disease in April that caused a lot of damage. He is hopeful he will get a good harvest in December. Improving apple yields Meanwhile, Nsanzabaganwa said Naeb is also working with Rwanda Agriculture Board (Rab) to also produce better and resistant apples to improve yield. Assinapol Ndereyimana, the in-charge of horticulture research in Rab’s Western Zone, said in 2009 Rab’s research on the performance of apple varieties from Uganda yielded good results. He said, so far, four apple varieties are in Rwanda, with the best performing two being Anna and Golden. Ndereyimana said Rab has so far distributed over 5,000 apple trees to farmers in Western Province, who have already started to harvest. “We are doing more research to develop apple trees in Rwanda so that we can avail more farmers with the crop,” he said. They are productive and are a domestic-based crop, he added. Ndereyimana said apples are harvested every five months and that Western Province is a potential area for apples as it has high altitude and cold, which is conducive for the production of apples. So far, apples are grown in Rubavu, Burera, Karongi, Bugesera and Huye districts. *********************** Agro-support for better fruit yield Fruit trees are often prone to pests and diseases as farmers say. Balton, a company providing equipment and supplies, told The New Times that it has given a big range of agro-support to farmers to ensure increased and quality produce. The firm supports local farmers through providing, among others, pesticides, fungicides and insecticides to prevent and manage pests and diseases. Balton experts urge fruit farmers to apply fertilisers like NPK to improve crop output. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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New efforts seek to fill gap in fruit production