Smallholder farmers, agro-processors, hotels and restaurants could soon see increased incomes following the launch of a three-year multibillion project financed by African Development Bank (AFDB). The initiative aims at scaling up technologies for African agricultural transformation in the value chain of high iron beans and orange fleshed sweet potatoes. The initiative, in 12 African countries, seeks to support AfDB’s Feed Africa strategy for the continent to reduce the current mass importation of food. This will be through boosting agriculture performance. Officials said the seed capital for the initiative is around $40 million in the first year adding that more investment will be injected in twelve African countries over time. Participating countries include; DR Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar, Zambia, Benin, Ivory Coast and Mali. Augustin Musoni, the senior researcher in legumes at Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB), told Business Times that the project will benefit over 100,000 people grouped in about 30,000 households across the country. The beneficiaries, he said, are along the whole value chain of the selected crops through deployment of appropriate food production technologies. “It aims at raising productivity through modernised agriculture and working closely with the private sector. The value chain activities will catalyse investment into marketing and entrepreneurial capacity and stimulate commercial financing of agriculture as a business with priority on women and youth,” he said. He said that the initiative is part of strategies to eliminate malnutrition in Rwanda. “Rwanda recently launched a strategic plan for agricultural transformation PSTA4 as the main pillar for guiding agricultural policies in the next years where we have to increase crop productivity. Fighting malnutrition and food insecurity, and needs value addition of agricultural produce,” he said. The researcher noted that the target also looks at great participation of private sector and expanding markets for agricultural products with an ambitious target of exporting. Under the third Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA3), Rwanda’s agricultural exports increased from over $208 million in 2013 to over $356 million in 2017 in monetary value. “We are working to reduce malnutrition which is currently at 38 per cent, from 45 per cent ten years ago, which is still high,” he noted. According to Daniel Mbogo from International Potato Center who is the technology transfer officer for the project, the initiative’s components include seeds multiplication and distribution to farmers, enhancing value addition and helping small business in processing. Other aspects include linking farmers to hotels and restaurants as well as supporting bakeries in terms of equipment in the value chain of sweet potatoes. “In sweet potatoes, we want to support large-scale and small-scale processors as well as link them to smallholder’s farmers,” he said. Doubling iron beans yields Mbogo said that promotion of good agricultural practices, mechanisation, better seed varieties and better handling post-harvest handling will help to increase production. “The productivity of bush beans is expected to increase from 0.8 tonnes to 1.2 tonnes per hectare while climbing beans productivity would increase from 1.5 tonnes to 2.5 tonnes per hectare,” he said. He added that this could increase the produce to 800,000 metric tonnes of high iron beans in targeted countries(among the beneficiaries) three years. “Such high iron beans are better for mothers and children in fighting anemia while orange-fleshed sweet potatoes provide Vitamin A,” he said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
