Smallholder Farmers’ Seed Sources in Rwanda for Unsubsidized System: Case of Common Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.)

Abstract

This study was conducted in the Southern Province in four selected districts, namely Kamonyi, Muhanga, Ruhango, and Nyanza, of Rwanda, where bean seeds are not under the subsidy program, hence unclear seed sources and acquisition modalities. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the bean seed sources and acquisition modalities used by farmer promoters in an unsubsidized system of bean seeds. Primary data were collected from 300 farmer promoters through a standard pretested questionnaire. Excel, SPSS, and GenStat computer packages were used to run data. The farmer promoters in the southern province source seed from both formal and informal seed supply systems. The most used variety is Shyushya, which is a variety from the informal seed system with 26.6%, followed by NUA and Mutike, both from the formal seed system with 14.2%, while the least was recorded in Kivuta, a variety from the informal seed system with 0.4%. Farmer promoters that used certified bean seed were 20.3%, while 60.3% used informal seeds. The acquisition modality that was mostly used for the formal seed was through donations with 43%, while credit paid back was the least to be used with 5.8%. The majority, 88.4% of farmers, adopted the formal seeds because of grain yield, while the minority, 1.7%, adopted them for better seed quality. The informal bean seeds are mostly acquired through cash mode of accession with 84.7%, while the least used acquisition modality is the seed exchange among the farmer promoters with 15.3%, and the reason for the use of own saved seeds was that they give yield with 28.8%, while the least was Most Known in the area with 2.8%. The study revealed that the certified bean seed business is possible as long as it provides seeds that give farmers more grain yield and farmers are willing to buy seeds as their informal seeds are acquired through cash. The breeding program should consider Shyushya, Mutike, and NUA attributes of preferences by farmers to develop a variety that responds to farmers’ needs.