News on Potato Varieties and Seed from Rwanda

The lack of quality seed for improved varieties has been attributed to the limited capacity of seed multipliers to produce enough to meet farmer’s demands.

Potato farmers have welcomed the government’s on-going trials on the use of agricultural biotechnology in producing a new Irish potato variety resistant to the devastating late blight disease.

The triadic comparisons of technologies – or tricot – approach is being used in a citizen-science project funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) to identify and scale up best cassava and potato varieties in Rwanda.

A Rwandan entrepreneur is pioneering the use of innovative farming technology that, he believes, is set to play a major role in feeding the growing population in his country, amid increasing pressure on arable land.

The Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) has started testing True Potato Seeds, which are produced by Solynta, a Dutch firm that develops hybrid potatoes. True Potato Seeds are collected from the berries or fruits of the potato plant.

Rwanda needs about 35,000 tons of quality potato seeds to cover 25 percent of total cultivated land in each growing season. The targeted quantity to fill the existing gap is 60 percent despite persisting challenges.

During his presentation at the official opening of the 11th African Potato Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, World Potato Congress President Romain Cools announced the continuous effort of his organization to be a partner of the African potato sector.

Potato organizations on Monday called for deliberate efforts to increase potato and sweet potatoes production for sustainable nutritious food systems in Africa.

In Rwanda, the Ministry of Agriculture and partners have pledged to establish modern seed potato warehouses and greenhouses to ensure the supply of quality seed potatoes.

New potato varieties are needed in Rwanda to meet the current market demands. Nevertheless, the potato variety Kinigi is still favorite among farmers as well as in the community of potato consumers.

The International Potato Center (CIP) and BlackPace Africa Group (BPA) executed a Technical and Scientific agreement to advance potato production in Africa, with focus on Rwanda.

Experts in potato breeding and research have identified Eastern Province of Rwanda as a potential alternative for clean potato seed production.

Farmers of Irish potatoes in Rwanda are decrying not only the shortage of quality seeds but also the mounting prices.

The private sector has been urged to invest in Rwanda's Irish potato production so as to address the shortage and help prevent price fluctuations.