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  • Title: [How to increase food production?].
    Author: Gahamanyi L.
    Journal: Imbonezamuryango; 1984 Dec; (4):24-33. PubMed ID: 12267714.
    Abstract:
    Pressure of population on cultivable land, serious soil erosion, and low productivity due to scarcity of inputs have hampered efforts to provide an adequate diet for the population of Rwanda. Until the present, production has increased about as rapidly as population, but Rwanda is not totally self-sufficient in food, future climatic conditions may be less favorable than those of the past, technical and resource constraints are likely to increase, and little new land will be available for cultivation. Between 1970-80, hectares devoted to bananas and beans have increased considerably, but the marginal nature of much new land has seriously lowered productivity. Sweet potatoes are more extensively grown but their productivity is limited, and productivity of manioc has stagnated despite efforts to increase it. Peas are less frequently cultivated because the fallow land on they they are grown has almost disappeared due to population pressure. Agriculture in Rwanda has always been associated with herding, but population pressure is eliminating pastureland. Firewood for cooking is also becoming more scarce and reforestation is not proceeding rapidly enough to fill projected demand. Between 1978-80 and the year 2000, preliminary goals are to increase production in tons from 2,005,900 to 3,375,000 for bananas, from 177,400 to 330,000 for beans, from 15,200 to 45,500 for ground nuts, from 4000 to 25,000 for soybeans, from 174,800 to 288,000 for sorghum, from 81,300 to 250,000 for maize, from 3700 to 45,000 for rice, from 837,100 to 2,148,000 for sweet potatoes, from 506,600 to 1,200,000 for manioc, and from 216,000 to 600,000 for potatoes. Reaching these goals will require doubling of overall productivity per hectare. Different strategies will be required for increasing the yields of the principal crops. Priority should be given to developing strains of beans that will grow well in the poor soils, dry or cold regions, and acidic soils where they are usually planted in Rwanda. Beans requiring less labor-intensive cultivation and able to grow in association with other crops or under banana trees are needed. The new varieties should be resistent to disease and pests. Bananas, with an annual production of over 2 million tons, are the most important crop in Rwanda, but 80-90% is used for beer, an important indicator of family wealth and symbolic object in social relations. The average yield of bananas declined by 19% between 1970-80. 3 very productive varieties of table bananas have been introduced recently, but research is needed in different ecologic regions of Rwanda focusing on cultivation of bananas in association with other crops, improved varieties of bananas, and better cultivation methods. Research should also be directed toward developing the best varieties of high, medium, and low altitude sorghum, the traditional cereal crop, of maize and of sweet potatoes, the 2nd most important crop, as well as toward identifying the best cultivation methods for each.
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