Ngororero district farmers who cultivate various crops including wheat, maize and beans on the radical terraces of Karambi site are proud of the yields they get, thanks to the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture to give them new resistant varieties of seeds that they cultivate on the consolidated land.
These farmers who formed a cooperative of 93 members, alternate wheat, maize and beans on a 20ha of land Their yield has shifted from 7000 kilograms per ha to 3.5 tons per ha in the last eleven years according to Fulgence Hakizimana an agronomist in Kabaya sector.
He also said that their productivity may even increase more by educating the farmers, applying fertilizers and by looking for new varieties that give enough yield.
Note that so far these farmers are trying a new variety of wheat dubbed Nyaruka, which may provide about 3.8 tonnes of wheat per hectare and matures in only four months.
But all these come after the Ministry of Agriculture through the Nkunganire program offered them new varieties of resistant seeds, new technics of agriculture, market and fertilisers.
” Before I began to use fertilisers and the technics of planting, my wheat crop had not been satisfying”. Says Jean Baptiste Ntihinyurwa vice chairman of the cooperative
Moreover, these farmers say that they are not concerned about the market of their produce since the Ministry of Agriculture buy their produce.
” We used to lack a market for our crop due to the early varieties of wheat that we grew. But for the moment we don’t have a problem with market.” Ntihinyurwa said.
While in general they praise the improvement made in their farming, some of the farmers we talked with, said that the terraces are done without their awareness which affects them negatively because they are not informed of the time that the terraces will be constructed hence causing a loss of their crop which is already grown on the land that uprooted during the construction of those terraces. They recommend that the terraces be constructed by informing farmers on time.
“They didn’t inform us in advance. Some crops perished along the way,” said FeIicien Nsengiyaremye a farmer who also said his maizes were uprooted.
These farmers also say that the major problem that undermines the quality of their produce is about post harvest storing facility and training.
“The problem is not about the variety but the quality.” “Proper storage of the produce is the main problem that is here. If you harvest wheat and store them in a humid place they will deteriorate.” Emphasizes Hakizimana.
Also to improve the quality of wheat production, farmers make sure that they do it in the right time.
“We do our best and harvest them before the September rain. Otherwise the rain will destroy and alter their quality.” Ntihinyurwa said.
