Horticulture Crops Management

Objective:

The study aims to analyze the contribution of the NCA in the marketing of horticulture products in the provinces of Kirundo and Bujumbura Rural

Specific objectives:
• Market feasibility study
• Identification of the challenges faced by horticulture farmers
• Possible solutions to reduce post-harvest losses

Method:

For our work, we used the quantitative method to carry out the research. Therefore, data were collected using KOBO collection software and finally processed in advanced Excel software to generate the analysis results

Key Findings:

• Market feasibility
It is up to extension workers to use their imagination and intelligence to maximize the proportion of the sale price of food items that go to the rural community. Good marketing reduces the cost of fresh produce (which is a public health benefit) and expands markets for high-value plant products, which are an essential part of viable smallholder farming systems.

The potential for horticulture is still largely under exploited. Therefore, Burundi has set out to formulate a strategic framework for the development of horticulture in Burundi. (CSHB). This strategy and the action plan that accompanies it reflects the will of the government and partners to strengthen the role of horticulture as an activity sector fully included within the agriculture area. The CSHB is intended to promote sustainable intensification of horticulture in Burundi.

• Identification of the challenges encountered in the horticultural products chain
The first challenge is related to the consumers and traders’ mastery of the actual needs of consumers and to the establishment of supply links and the fixing of purchase prices, especially between producers and traders.
The second challenge is about the harvest conservation. Being very perishable, fruits and vegetables require significantly improved preservation systems to minimize losses. This lack of improved preservation has consequences on the quantities bought directly from producers.

In Burundi, there are few agri-food industries, and this is one of the constraints of this sector. On the one hand, the farmers lack financial means, and on the other hand, the electrical energy is very low and uncertain. There are few processing factories, a situation that handicaps producers.
High production forces producers from time to time to throw away some of their products which rot for lack of buyers. After harvest, they have no alternative but to sell directly to end consumers on the market. The other point is that the state of roads is so bad in some places that some regions miss some products while other regions experience excess of these products

• Possible solutions to reduce post-harvest losses
1. Build refrigeration centres at the level of major marketing centres for conservation.
2. Strengthen quality control equipment and capacity.
3. Disseminate information and provide training on storage technologies and crop processing.
4. Set up suitable infrastructures for each type of product intended for export.

Specific Recommendations:
1. Facilitate consultation between the different actors and partners (different ministries, institutions, donors and projects) for a harmonious development of the horticultural sector in order to make the project profitable.

2. Explore and disseminate information on outlet markets for horticultural products in order to:
a. plan the supply of horticultural products to avoid falling market prices and post-harvest losses of perishable products.
b. distribute supply according to demand and improve producers' income.
c. Promote the use of new communication and information technologies to improve the information circuit on market price variations.
d. Ensure an efficient and decentralized network for the marketing of seeds and seedlings.
e. Organize horticulturists into networks at the level of each sector.
f. Strengthen the network of actors in the already existing fruit growing sector Install/multiply collection and packaging centres in order to preserve the quality of products in the value chain.
3. Improve the conditions for transporting horticultural products through the development and maintenance of feeder roads and access to credit for the acquisition of their own means of transport.
4. Advocacy with public authorities to adjust the tax system on horticultural products to promote local consumption of horticultural products and make them competitive on the export market.