Rwanda Archives - IITA News

Food security: Scaling innovation towards banana production in Rwanda

To improve food security in banana production in Rwanda, IITA has commenced a project titled “Multiplatform delivery of co-developed tools for national control and prevention of Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) in Rwanda: Scaling innovation for enhanced Banana production and Food Security – ICT4BXW@Scale ” In Rwanda, banana is the leading staple food and source of…

Managing Xanthomonas Wilt of Banana (BXW) using Single Diseased Stem Removal (SDSR) technique

Xanthomonas wilt has been affecting banana fields in Rwanda since 2005. Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resource Development Board (RAB), and IITA introduced the Single Diseased Stem Removal technique, considered as the best approach to fight the disease in Rwanda. Watch new video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4mGpm00vD0) about the SDSR technique on IITA’s…

Novel and effective technique to control Banana Xanthomonas wilt is suitable for Rwandan agroecology

Banana is a major commodity in Rwanda, used as both a cash and (staple) food crop; it covers 23% of Rwanda’s land and is grown by 90% of households. Rwanda is one of the largest banana producers in the East Africa Region and ranks second in banana consumption globally with an annual per capita consumption…

RUNRES project to avail animal feed for farmers in Rwanda

The Rural-Urban Nexus, establishing a nutrient loop to improve city-region food system resilience (RUNRES), project team presented the three project-funded innovation plans to Mayor Thadee Tuyizere of Kamonyi District. The innovation plans will help manage and process urban organic waste in the district, where the project is being implemented, to produce important animal feed and…

Rwanda uses tricot approach to identify the best potato and cassava varieties in various agroecological zones

Governmental (and nongovernmental) agencies regularly develop and release improved crop varieties for the market. In some cases, varieties are released with little information about their performance outside controlled environments. In Rwanda, the Rwanda Agricultural and Animal Resource Development Board (RAB) has recognized this as a problem and looked for solutions to address the lack of…

Project’s screen house at Rubona station

New disease-resistant cassava varieties introduced in Rwanda

Rwandan farmers have lacked improved cassava varieties resistant to the main cassava diseases, namely Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). The diseases have since 2014/15 affected cassava productivity, hence threatening the incomes and food security of many people in the country. “There are two main diseases that attack cassava in Rwanda…

Rwandans benefit from IITA Women’s Group scholarship for the first time

The IITA Women’s Group has awarded scholarships to 14 Rwandan students in its annual scholarship initiative, which reached Rwanda for the first time since inception. The award ceremony was held in February 2020 in Kamonyi District, southern Rwanda. The award scheme is designed to assist IITA junior national staff in sponsoring their children for an academic session….

IITA trains cassava processors and bakers in Rwanda

According to the 2018 data published by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, cassava is the second most grown crop after banana in terms of cultivated area. The same data indicates that cassava is the fourth most consumed staple crop in Rwanda, as freshly harvested roots or as transformed recipes majorly ugali made from…

CIALCA on track to improve profitable agriculture in the Great Lakes Region

Improving food and nutrition security and developing climate-resilient and profitable agriculture were discussed at the mid-term review meeting of the Consortium for Improving Agriculture-based Livelihoods in Central Africa (CIALCA). The three-day meeting was held in Kigali, Rwanda between 29 October and 1 November. CIALCA operates in Rwanda, Burundi, and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and…

Team of IITA BoT members embark on IITA Rwanda visit

On 9 October, the IITA Board Chair, Dr Amos Namanga Ngongi, and the Programs Committee Chair Dr Christian Borgemeister, paid a courtesy visit to the IITA Rwanda offices. They were transiting through Kigali from Bukavu where they attended the inauguration of the President Olusegun Obasanjo Research Campus at IITA Kalambo. “The purpose is to see…