A kilogramme of (Irish) potato seeds has increased to Rwf700 from between Rwf400 and Rwf500 in the last farming season which ended in February 2020, according to the Federation of Irish Potato farmers' cooperatives in Rwanda.
If a kilogramme of potato seeds is Rwf700, a farmer has to invest about Rwf1.4 million per a hectare because an estimated 2,000 kilogrammes (two tonnes) of the seeds are needed per a hectare, according to data from the Rwanda Agriculture Board.
Speaking to The New Times, Vincent Havugimana, the President of the Federation of Irish Potato farmers' cooperatives in Rwanda said that the shortage of potato seeds is a concern for farmers and it needs to be addressed.
He called for scaled up efforts to increase seed production and availability to farmers through promoting seed multiplication, highlighting the need for research development to come up with new and highly productive potato varieties.
Meanwhile, there are about eight new potato seed varieties which were developed, but they are not accessible to farmers as they are still more at multiplication level," he said.
