2023-06-14 22:19:52
If in western Rwanda, part of the plots were destroyed by the violent floods at the beginning of May, in the district of Gicumbi (north), one of the most tea-producing regions, an initiative is set up a resilience project for farmers, to relocate the plantations to the heights, so that they are protected from the weather.
Nothing remains of Patrice Hatangimana’s old tea plantation in the Mulindi Valley. “ Here, eight years ago, I had a tea plantation. Unfortunately, the floods destroyed it. The waters came from the top of the mountain and engulfed everything in their path, washing away my tea plantation he says.
The old plot is nothing more than a large wasteland, used as pasture for cattle. The tea farmer had to work on other farmers’ land for years to earn a living. But on some of his plantations in the mountains surrounding the Mulindi Valley, instead of the maize or potatoes he previously grew at high altitudes, the farmer awaits the first harvests of tea planted three years earlier. “ It takes time for the first harvest, but once ready we can harvest every week. Unlike other plants such as beans, which are seasonal, it was the profitability of tea that motivated us. With the resources it gives us, we can buy whatever we want on the market. “, he explains.
« We quickly understood the importance of relocation »
The producer is part of the pilot project of Green Gicumbi, which accompanies, on 50 hectares at altitude, farmers to cultivate tea on the hills, instead of following the old practices and installing the plantations in the valleys where they are more vulnerable to the weather. Perpetue Uwihirwe, a farmer, also took part in the programme. “ At the top, the plantation is not at risk of being flooded because the trenches are well marked out. With the other people who lost their plantation, we quickly understood the importance of relocation “, she says.
Trenches intended to flatten the rugged hills in order to avoid landslides, and to protect the plants, but also the cultivated land in the valleys, explains Jean-Marie Vianney Kagenza, project manager for the Rwandan Green Fund. “ We built progressive or trench terraces, every 50 meters. They have the ability to retain water from one plot to another. They reduce water velocity, protect the watershed in general, and at the same time, minimize flooding and soil erosion towards wetlands in the valley. ».
So far, the pilot project involves nearly 400 tea producers in the district. But officials hope it will be expanded to other parts of the country, including those hardest hit by the floods.
►Also read: Rwanda: in Rubavu, tea crops impacted by floods
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