Improving Business for Irish Potato Aggregators in Rwanda

Rwanda is the sixth largest producer of Irish potatoes in Africa. However, its competitiveness is challenged by low-quality agroinputs, poor storage capacity, and weak coordination between farmer groups and potential buyers, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Consequently, this leads to low yields, high post-harvest losses, and, subsequently, low prices on the market. 

However, the difficult situation has turned into a business opportunity for some who are frustrated by the challenges. Enias Hangiyaremye is an Irish potato aggregator near the Kavumu sector in the western district of Ngororero. He started his business in 2014, and it was initially performing well, but unfortunately, it did not go as well as anticipated due to poor business management, lack of markets, and bad debtors. 

In 2018, Hangiyaremye engaged with the Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze activity to benefit from a series of trainings for aggregators and suppliers. Funded by USAID, Hinga Weze is promoting the production, marketing, and consumption of Irish potatoes together with other value chains—High-Iron Beans, Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes, maize, and horticulture—for 560,000 farmers across ten districts. The aim is to increase farmers’ income, improve the nutritional status of women and children, and increase the resilience of agricultural and food systems to a changing climate. 

Together with 32 other aggregators, Hangiyaremye gained skills in business management, including quality assurance, record keeping, and contract farming, to grow his Irish potato business. He now sells 20 metric tons, up from 15 metric tons when he started with Hinga Weze, and he is able to buy in bulk at the time of harvest, manage stock, and deliver to clients on time, thereby sustaining the market for farmers. Hangiyaremye has also diversified the business and is now managing an input credit scheme worth $29,908 (27.4 million RWF) for 160 Irish potato farmers. “I help farmers to access agroinputs like Irish potato seeds, lime, and fertilizers on credit, and they pay back after harvest,” Hangiyaremye said. 

To promote all Hinga Weze value chains, Hangiyaremye and 11 other aggregators were assisted in signing 68 contracts for the supply of 164 metric tons of Irish potatoes, 5,212 metric tons of maize, 150 metric tons of high-iron beans, 8,472 metric tons of horticulture crops, and 929 kilograms of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes. Sales are now worth $3.8 million (3.5 billion RWF), and farmers are able to access finance worth $1.5 million (1.4 billion RWF). 

Managing business is no easy task, but through Hinga Weze, aggregators are finding a niche in the unpredictable Irish potato market.