Rwanda is planning to curb post-harvest loss for chili and onions with five drying centres set to be built across the country, according to the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB). The facilities are expected to cut post-harvest losses from 30 to 8 per cent while boosting the quality and marketability of crops like chili and onions, according to NAEB. ALSO READ: $11m horticulture centres to cut post-harvest losses The post-harvest centres to be built in Kigali and in the provinces are part of the Smart Food Value Chain Management Project, by the Government of Rwanda and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). At the groundbreaking ceremony for the National Post-Harvest Centre in Kigali, on December 10, the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Mark Bagabe Cyubahiro, said the facilities will add value to the horticulture produce and provide opportunities for biggers incomes for farmers. The other centres will be built in the districts of Rulindo, Bugesera, Nyagatare, and Rubavu. Cyubahiro emphasized that the facilities will allow farmers to sell whenever they want to without being forced to give away their produce at low prices due to the inability to store their produce for long periods. “Farmers will not be forced to sell at a cheap price simply because they cannot keep the produce for a long time,” he noted. This new approach is also beneficial on a larger scale, both for the country and the farmers, as they will be able to export products at competitive prices, the minister said. ALSO READ: Rwanda's horticulture sector grows through Horti-Export Phase 2, targets job creation Aimable Rusingizandekwe, Project Manager at NAEB, said that the target to reduce chili and onion harvest loss to 8 per cent would be achieved by the end of 2026. Up to Rwf4.7 billion will be invested in construction of the centres, while the installation of equipment will cost more than $1.2 (approximately Rwf1.7 billion), he added. Rusingizandekwe noted that the project will create about 2,000 jobs, 60 per cent of them for women. He added that transportation will be easier, as 40 tonnes of fresh chili reduce to 13 tonnes after drying, while cured onions will lose between 10 to 15 per cent of their weight. The national centre in Kigali will have the capacity to process 40 tonnes of chili and onions per day. Each centre in the provinces will have the capacity to process 9.6 tonnes of chili per day and 34.5 tonnes of onions per day. ALSO READ: How pioneering chili farmer with a PhD in ecology is transforming agriculture The technology that will be used in the centres will be more effective than traditional methods like sun-drying, where moisture content is difficult to regulate, the officials said. In terms of technology, the minister explained that while it’s not overly complex, it requires good controls on temperature and timing. “The will use convection currents of heat from hot water and heated air to bring the product to a certain moisture content,” Cyubahiro said. “Moisture content is crucial for infection control or contamination control,” he added, stressing the importance of preventing contamination during the drying process. Herman Uwizeyimana, a farmer and exporter of chili who heads a company called Feisher Global, said the new centres will help investors in horticulture to avoid losses. “We used to dry our produce by waiting for the sun, and the rainy season would affect our ability to dry them safely,” Uwizeyimana said. “But this new system will enable us to compete at the international level. The way they were dried before could make them lose quality, and many farmers were afraid of investing in chili cultivation due to concerns about lack of efficient drying facilities.” Chili could be dried within five days when there was enough sunshine, but with this project, they will be dried in just 24 hours,” he said. Nicodeme Sebera, an onion farmer from Rubavu District and president of the cooperative COBATU, said that recently there was a lot of produce that lost buyers, and some farmers decided to cultivate other crops after incurring losses. Now, there is hope to keep onions safe for six months when they are cured, Sebera said. In a good season, a farmer can get Rwf500 per kilo, but sometimes prices fall, and the price can drop to as low as Rwf100 per kilo, which is unfair considering all the investment it takes. This leads to a loss of 60 per cent for the farmer,” he said, adding more people would be willing to invest in onion farming as incomes could increase.
