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In Rwanda, more than 26,000 tons of rice that had lost market share was purchased to feed schoolchildren.
After the national authorities were informed of the situation, and confirmed by President Paul Kagame, 5,000 tonnes of rice grown in the Rusiz district of the Bugarama Valley lost its market, on August 18, 2024, the rice was purchased by East Africa Exchange (EAX), a cross-border business, which will work with Mashyuza Rice Mill and COTICORI for processing.
Normally, when rice is harvested, it should be taken to the mills for sorting and then go to the market for people to buy and eat, but it happened that out of all the tons harvested, some could not be sold and sales fell as the pickers said it was cheaper than what is grown in Rwanda, resulting in a loss of 26,000 tons nationwide, including 5,000 tons in stock.
Minister Musafiri said the problem of rice losing market has been solved by the government
In his first interview with the RBA, where he was sworn in as Minister of Agriculture and Livestock for a five-year term, Idevons Musafiri said the problem of rice losing market had been addressed by the government.
He said: “After seeing this problem, traders wanted the farmer to pay less than our price of R500 per kilo and then sell it without retailing, but since we have calculated everything he puts in, the fertilizer, the work he does, and the drugs he grows, we know it will not be more than 500. Finally, we decided that the Rwandan government through the company EAX wants money to buy all this rice, and we will pick it and give it to you for education, at a price lower than what the traders are willing to pay because if they buy it, they will spend $1,500 to buy it.”
He added: “We will buy from us and pick and then sell to schools at very low prices because the most expensive will buy 800 tons, which gives us comfort to farmers. The plan to buy 26,000 tons of rice started yesterday without buyers, we started from Rusiz district and they started buying all the rice from these locations “There are problems in other places, Gasabo, Rwamagana, Gazibo, Ngoma and the southern parts of the districts where we grow rice, such as Nyanza and Gisagara. These problems have been solved by the Rwandan government. “
There are sustainable solutions to agricultural product market shortages
As the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock explained, there are sustainable measures to address this problem, besides buying all rice products that have lost market share.
He said, “There are sustainable measures that can solve this problem once and for all, and while we are going through a period where production lacks buyers, we want to build a permanent sustainable company that buys all the food production that is lost on the market so that we can store it for the country and when it decreases we can return it to the market.”
He added: “When every country wants to be self-sufficient in food, they want prices to remain the same, especially for grains that we eat every day and other things that can be stored, we want to make a plan to store enough, and then the government also comes to the market. “Buyers buy from farmers, so the market is lacking, sellers are sometimes few, and the government supports them and buys the products they didn’t buy, maybe about 40%.”
People start buying rice which lost market
MINAGRI said that the centre will be established soon and farmers will start harvesting in the next season so that there will be no more situation where farmers will suffer losses due to reduced food production.
Although there is a lack of market for rice, if it is grown in Rwanda, it cannot satisfy the domestic market, as Rwanda consumes more than 450,000 tons of rice each year, while domestic rice production does not exceed 70,000 tons per year. Last year, a quarter of the farms planted 15,000 hectares of rice.
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