Rwanda: Cassava growers urged on quality

The Minister for Trade and Investment, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, has called upon cassava farmers to improve the crop's quality, while pledging government's full support to put up processing factories that will add value to the produce meant for export.

Nsanzabaganwa made the appeal last week, while meeting cassava growers in Ruhango district on a three-day working tour to assess how the ministry was supporting local investors in the province to stimulate development.

"The supply for cassava is promising locally but the demand both here and abroad is very high because Rwandan cassava is very delicious," Nsanzabaganwa told the Ruhango district local investors.

In the words of Nsanzabaganwa, "to sustain the interest of potential stakeholders, the cassava industry needs champions willing to improve the sub-sector's performance, including the setting up of the necessary processing sector to back up the increased production".

She urged farmers and would-be farmers to take advantage of the country's comparative advantage in cassava cultivation to increase its international market share.

"We (government) are planning to support locals put up factories that will process and add value onto the cassava into quality flour but the farmers need to first improve on their production quality levels".

According to the Minister, cassava production has been "promising only that farmers have to be supported to improve on the quality of what they produce."

Today a huge portion of the produce is exported to DRC and Burundi which necessitates the private sector to carry out a systematic campaign to do business in a well coordinated manner with its neighbouring countries.

Cassava production is still carried out on a small scale despite the high demand.


Source: allafrica.com

Publication date: 2/11/2009