At least 78,000 hectares of bean crop farms across the country were affected by dry spells during agricultural season A, usually from September to January.

This was said by Jean Claude Izamuhaye, the Head of Crop Research and Technology Transfer Department at the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB).

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The drought effects, he said, resulted in decrease of bean production in all districts of Southern Province except the districts of Nyaruguru and Nyamagabe. Affected districts also include Bugesera and other districts of Eastern province.

"Beans were so much affected by dry spells from September to October. This is because beans are so much more sensitive to dry spells compared to other crops,” he said.

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Beans are cultivated widely across Rwanda. They are the main staple food in the country, providing households with 32 per cent of required calories and 65 percent of protein.

"Dry spells affected beans in the last two years. Rains also delayed agricultural season A. Farmers faced dry spells which were followed by heavy rains that also affected productivity. Even the few hectares that survived did not provide good produce. That is why bean prices have also drastically increased,” he said.

A kilo of beans currently goes for between Rwf1,000 and Rwf1,300 across the country.

According to a report by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR), bean production continues to decrease.

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In 2020 Season A, beans were cultivated on more than 362,100 hectares, an increase of 21 percent compared to 2019 season A records.

Beans production was 226,570 tonnes, a decrease of 10 percent from 2019 season A estimates.

The average yield of beans was 626 kilogrammes – or less than a tonne per hectare.

In 2022, beans were cultivated on land estimated at 362,439 hectares in season A compared to 268,634 hectares in season B and 3,292 hectares in season C. Bean production was estimated at 235,818 metric tons in season A compared to 210,290 metric tons in season B and 3,381 metric tons in season C.

The report says this is a decrease of 9 percent in season A, 8.4 percent in season B and 5 percent in season C when compared to respective seasons of 2021.

The average yield of beans was 0.65 tons per hectare in season A and 0.78 tons in season B.

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Meanwhile speaking during a virtual event to announce the rainy season forecast for March to May and the performance of the concluded season, Izamuhaye said: "We hope to get a good harvest this agricultural season B. We urge farmers to embrace small-scale irrigation in areas that are expected to be affected by minimal rains.”

Mathie Mbati Mugunga , the senior forecaster at Rwanda Meteorology Agency, confirmed that in farming season A farmers only got rains in November and December.

"Farmers from Kayonza, Kirehe, Bugesera, Amayaga region and Kigali city were greatly affected. In our analysis, our forecast accuracy performed at 76 per cent compared to the 85 per cent accuracy that we had predicted. This is due to climate change,” he said.

Anthony Twahirwa, the Division Manager of Weather or Climate services and Application Division at Rwanda Meteorology Agency, said that from March to May, rainfall between 600 and 300 milliliters is expected across the country.

While some areas in the country could face heavy rains which cause floods, he said, other areas could face reduced rains that also affect the agriculture sector.

Burere, Gakenke, Musanze and Nyaruguru districts could face heavy rains.

"However, the expected rainfall is minimal compared to the past 40 years,” he said.

The districts of Ngoma, Bugesera, Kirehe and Rwamagana could get minimal rains.

"This means that some parts of the country will face reduced rains,” he said.