Banana plantation harvest in Rwanda is still very low yet the crop occupies the biggest arable land, the Minister of Agriculture Agnes Karibata has revealed.
“We face a challenge of productivity. The Banana plant occupies the biggest land area in Rwanda but many of these banana trees bear nothing- output per acre is very low,” She stressed.
The minister, however, pointed out that the problem of low productivity is not unique to Rwanda but prevalent to most tropical African countries and the constraints causing low productivity can only be solve through effective collaboration between the countries in the region.
She further emphasised that although banana plantations still serve a fundamental role in combating soil erosion, they still need to bear fruitful productivity.
In an international conference that bought together delegates from Burundi, Tanzania and DR Congo at Mubano Hotel over the weekend, participants, highlighted Bacterial wilt as an issue which the regional and local agriculturists should carry out adequate prevention measures.
Jean Pierre Busogora technical assistant in the Integrated Post Management (IPM) project funded under the Belgian BTC on his part, said farmers have complete lack of knowledge of the constraints such as tilt bacterial control, pest and other crop diseases that is killing their crop
He observed that Banana is a big crop, a major source of food for the population as well as a raw material for the brewery industry in Rwanda. “That is why we are trying to come up with the right measures for its improved production” he emphasised.
The three day conference recommended for introduction of improved banana genotypes, suitable implementation of integrated banana production methods, diversity of banana pests and diseases and promotion of appropriate methods and benefits of banana research for the farming community among many others.
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