When more than 300 farmers gathered in Cyuve Sector, Musanze District, for a Farmer Field Day ahead of Rwanda's 2027 Season A planting season, one message from Kenya Seed Company Rwanda Ltd stood out: a good harvest starts with quality seed.
Held on Thursday, August 13, the field day offered farmers an opportunity to see how improved maize and wheat varieties perform under highland conditions, while gaining practical lessons on timely planting, fertiliser application, and crop management.
Among the varieties showcased were Hybrid 628 maize popularly known by farmers as 'Sunkoreho" or 'Gitifu Warakoze' and Njoro 11 wheat, as the company encouraged farmers to adopt certified quality seed and agronomic practices that can help maximise yields.
The event also offered a window into a broader story: the growing role of private seed companies in Rwanda's efforts to strengthen domestic seed production, improve farmers' access to quality planting farm inputs and raise agricultural productivity.
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Supporting Rwanda's seed ambitions
The field day also highlighted the growing role of the private sector in strengthening Rwanda's seed industry.
Kenya Seed Company Rwanda has operated in the country for 14 years, expanding its portfolio, from working with farmers and agro-dealers, and increasing its participation in local seed production.
Rwanda has been encouraging private-sector investment in seed production to reduce reliance on imports. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), the country has achieved self-sufficiency in certified seed production for strategic crops including maize, wheat and soybean.
Kate Ojungo, the Country Representative for Kenya Seed Company Rwanda, said the company works with MINAGRI and other key partners to understand national seed requirements and make the right contribution.
"We have been able to collaborate with the ministry in terms of understanding what are their projections in terms of seed companies to contribute, ensuring there's enough seed in the country," Ojungo said.
The company currently offers registered seed varieties ranging from maize, wheat, sunflower, fodder, finger millet and diverse vegetable seeds branded 'Simlaw Seeds'.
Ojungo said it has "Four maize varieties suited for different agro-ecological zones and eight registered wheat varieties," alongside more than 75 vegetable seed varieties for diverse micro-ecological zones.
She stressed that selecting the right variety for a particular production environment is critical.
"If you plant a given specific variety but you subject it in the wrong environment, production is affected," Ojungo said.
The Musanze field day gave farmers practical guidance on planting time, fertiliser application, crop management and potential production challenges.
"It was a strategic platform for them to come and be capacitated or to understand the knowledge on when to plant, how to plant, how to apply fertiliser, what stages or what challenges can they anticipate," she said.
Quality seed, good agronomy key to higher yields
Hybrid 628 was among the varieties demonstrated at the event. Ojungo said the maize variety, which has been grown in Rwanda for about 10 years, can, overall, produce seven to eight tonnes per hectare under favourable highland conditions.
However, she said adequate rainfall and proper crop management remain essential.
"If the rains are not sufficient, we are advocating that you must have an irrigation facility to sustain the productivity of the crop," she said.
Without adequate water, yields can fall below three tonnes per hectare because the seed is not in its optimum environment.
For Jean Pierre Mugabushaka, a farmer and agro-dealer in Musanze, who collaborated with the Company to showcase the varieties noted improved varieties have demonstrated significant potential.
"Njoro 11 wheat variety is highly productive, climate-resilient and pest and disease resilient especially to rust which is a huge concern to most wheat farmers. Yields range between three and 3.5 tonnes per hectare, depending on the season, compared with about one tonne per hectare from the conventional seeds we used previously," he said.
He added: "the Hybrid 628 maize seed is also highly productive and produces sweet maize that attracts more customers who sale to the green Market. With Hybrid 628, we are achieving yields of between six and 8 tonnes per hectare."
Expanding local seed production
Kenya Seed Company Rwanda has increasingly participated in local seed production, part of the broader effort to strengthen domestic supply.
"For more than 10 years, the country was importing seed, but for the last four years we are proud because we are able to do local seed production," Ojungo said.
She said local production brings seed companies closer to farmers and provides feedback that can inform research and variety selection.
"It also allows us to get the feedback from farmers and even feedback from the attributes of the crop in a given zone and use it to inform the research components," Ojungo said.
The company's local production currently focuses on maize and wheat, with plans to expand into sunflower.
Bringing quality seed closer to farmers
Kenya Seed Company Rwanda distributes its products through more than 200 agro-dealers across the country, according to Ojungo.
The company also works with development organisations, cooperatives, and other partners that reach farmers directly, sourcing maize, wheat, vegetable and forage seed from Kenya Seed, she said.
The company also participates in the government's seed support programme, which provides subsidy to help farmers access selected seed varieties at more affordable prices through SNS - Smart Nkunganire System.
The wider seed value chain also supports local seed growers and agro-dealers, creating employment and income while improving access to farm inputs.
"It's a job opportunity for them, but again they're creating food security for a nation as Rwanda," Ojungo said.
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Jean Baptiste Nkundabagenze, a seed and fertiliser specialist at MINAGRI, said the partnership has helped improve farmers' access to quality inputs.
"We see an impact in partnering with Kenya Seed Company Rwanda and we hope more Rwandans will keep receiving quality seeds thanks to this partnership," he said.
Building a stronger domestic seed market
Rwanda's fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA5), which runs through 2029, places emphasis on increasing local Seed production and availability of improved varietal seeds through partnerships with the private sector.
Kenya Seed Company Rwanda says it is glad to contribute to this mandate of the government and to further develop the domestic seed market to meet local demand for seed and food security and to eventually export through enhancing regional trade in the near future.
"We want to empower the local market, empower the value chain actors, create inclusive opportunities, and let farmers be informed on how best they can enhance production that is sufficient for the domestic market, then we want to be able to export," Ojungo said.
The company will continue to focus on farmer education, including helping farmers distinguish certified quality seed from fake seed and to be able to select varieties suitable for their diverse ecological zones.
"In the next two, three years, [we want] to see more farmers being capacitated and empowered across the whole seed value chain, and the discussion only starts with accessing quality seed," she said.
