Rwandan farmers have been encouraged to plant macadamia plants since it performs better in the country’s soils making it a potential source of income for many farmers, hence boosting the economy.
Addressing macadamia farmers in Rwamagana district, Jean-Marie Munyaneza the Horticulture International Market Officer at the National Agricultural Export development Board (NAEB), noted that if macadamia is planted in plenty it would overtake the sales of other cash crops like coffee and tea.
In Rwanda,the planting of macadamia nuts was introduced in the year 2006 and some farmers have started harvesting yet getting market for the nuts seems to have discouraged some.
However, Freshco Rwanda limited a local company is willing to buy the harvested nuts. The company’s country director Peter Karanja encourages farmers to plant more macadamias since there is high demand both local and global.
“More people are interested with this nut partly because due to its health advantages, it doesn’t have cholesterol fats for instance and its proteins has also been proved to be beneficial for our health,” he remarked.
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