Participatory Assessment of Potato Production Systems and Cultivar Development in Rwanda

Abstract

Potato cultivars grown in Rwanda are very old, low yielding and not amenable to food processing. High yielding and late blight tolerant cultivars for this country should be evaluated at different agro-ecozones prior to releasing them to farmers, who are yet to be integrated into potato breeding. The objectives of this study were to assess farmers’ preferred traits in potato cultivars and to gather knowledge from farmers about potato clones bred in Rwanda. Four respondents per village in 36 villages each for the districts of Musanze, Burera and Nyamagabe participated in the survey, whose questionnaire was about farm size, gender balance, land allocated to potatoes and other main crops, potato “seed” sourcing, potato production constraints and most important potato attributes. Potato was rated as the most important food and cash crop. ‘Kirundo’, ‘Cruza’, ‘Mabondo’ and ‘Victoria’ were the most popular cultivars. Among them, Mabondo’ was the most resistant to the oomycete Phytophthora infestans causing late blight. Potato production in Rwanda is limited by lack of improved cultivars, high temperature, drought, acidic soil, pathogens, insects, weeds, inadequate storage of tubers as planting material, post-harvest technology, low market price of tubers at harvest, lack of access to credit, climate change, and gaps such as inadequate fertilizer and fungicide applications. The most important cultivar attributes were high tuber yield, host plant resistance and high specific gravity or dry matter.

Supply and demand of processed potato products in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda: variety requirements of processing companies and implications for trait prioritization for breeding

“…They sell 22% immediately after harvest for cash and about 60% is kept for household consumption (USAID 2015). Potato production in the main producing districts in the highlands of Rwanda (Rubavu, Musanze, Nyabihu and Burera) was found to generate on average 57% of the gross household income per year (Muhinyuza et al 2012). The main domestic market is the local fresh market.…”

Analisis Kepentingan Dan Kinerja (IPA) Dari Benih Kentang Varietas Baru “X”

“…Petani kentang yang membudidayakan kentang varietas baru ini akan mempertimbangkan sifat-sifat yang dimiliki benih kentang varietas baru yang dikenal dengan atribut produk. Beberapa atribut yang dipertimbangkan petani kentang, antara lain produktivitas, ketahanan terhadap penyakit, umur panen, kualitas umbi (rasa, tekstur, warna, dan daya simpan) (Muhinyuza et al, 2012;Thiele, 1999). Penilaian petani yang mengkaitkan antara kepentingan petani dan kinerja yang diberikan benih kentang varietas baru tersebut diperlukan terutama untuk memperbaiki kinerja dari benih kentang industri tersebut.…”

How could hybrid true potato seed foster development in potato sectors in East Africa?

“…In Kenya and Uganda, the majority of farmers allocate more than 25% of their farm area to potato (Gildemacher et al, 2009b;Muthoni et al, 2013). In Rwanda, and in some Kenyan districts farmers dedicate on average almost half of their farm area to potato (Muhinyuza et al, 2012;Muthoni et al, 2013). Short crop rotations, in combination with the use of contaminated seed tubers, result in high disease pressure and low yields.…”