Farmers and agriculture sector leaders have said they expect a new five-year scheme called Rwanda Agricultural Biotechnology Program, to support improvement in crop productivity, by addressing production challenges including pests, diseases, and drought. It was launched on October 11. The programme runs from October 2024 to October 2029, with more than $9.8 million funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – a US-based organisation. It targets to introduce three biotech or genetically modified (GM) crops for cultivation in the country, the programme initiators indicated. The first is a virus-resistant cassava engineered for resistance to Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD), locally commonly known known as kabore, a devastating virus that causes a reduction in the yield and quality of the staple food crop. The second is a late blight-resistant potato engineered for resistance to late blight, a fungal-like disease that depresses yields and generates dependence on chemical sprays as farmers try to get yields. The third is a drought-tolerant, stem borer and fall-armyworm-resistant maize engineered to protect farmers’ harvests from attacks by these pests. ALSO READ: Rwanda finally passes law on GMOs: What next? “The programme will improve yields and enabling farmers’ access to seeds that withstand diseases and unfavorable weather, and are highly productive,” said Athanase Nduwumuremyi, the coordinator of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) Rwanda. As such, the programme will contribute to food and nutrition security through increased crop productivity. “If farmers grow crops and they do not use pesticides, it means a reduction in the production cost for them.” ALSO READ: Inside Rwanda’s new Rwf13bn agri-biotech programme Nduwumuremyi, who is also the Coordinator of Roots and Tubers Program at Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), said that confined field trials for cassava have already been conducted and the yields are promising. Other trials have been carried out for maize in the farming season B of 2025 – which will run from March through June of that year. Irish potatoes trials are planned in the current farming season A of 2025 – which started from September 2024 and will end in February 2025. “For Irish potatoes, we will plant them in two or three weeks,” he said, indicating that import permit for the GMO Irish potato seeds are available. Therese Uzamukunda, a potato farmer in Rubavu District, Western Province, told The New Times that during rainy seasons, farmers are obliged to intensively apply chemicals to prevent huge yield loss due to late blight. This, she said, comes with a significant cost for the farmer. “If you don’t opt for intensive use of fungicides, you risk losing almost all the harvest,” she explained, estimating that on a farm area where you could get 5,000 kilos of Irish potatoes, production can be as low as 500 kilos. She described an Irish potato variety that can resist late blight as a relief to farmers. ALSO READ: Rwanda to begin GMO trials for potatoes by February 2025 The three crops for which confined trials are being conducted are key staple crops in Rwanda, which majority of Rwandans depend on for both subsistence and income generation. Canisius Kanangire, the Executive Director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), said that the programme is important for Rwanda since it targets addressing productivity challenges facing priority crops for Rwanda. “If you take maize, it is very heavily affected by the impact of climate change. Drought can easily devastate the crop and frustrate the production that the farmer was expecting,” he said. “Producing drought tolerant varieties will certainly address major challenges that face the farmers in general, and the smallholder farmers in particular,” he noted, citing TELA maize that is drought tolerant and resistant to pests including fall armyworm and stem borer. Irish potato that is resistant to late blight means production can be higher and predictable for the farmer, while virus-resistant cassava offers hope to cushion farmers from losses.
