Google – AFP, Stephanie Aglietti (AFP), 14 February 2014
 |
A woman harvests
pyrethre flowers, which will later be dried to produce pyrethrum,
a natural
insecticide, in Musanze, northern Rwanda , on October 24, 2013 (AFP,
Stephanie
Aglietti)
|
Musanze —
Tourists flock to Rwanda's mountains to see its famed gorillas, but now the
small nation is working to diversify its economy with a natural insecticide
farmed on nearby fertile foothills.
Pyrethrum,
a natural insecticide, is ideally suited to the climate in the foothills of the
Virunga mountains where the gorillas live, in the north of Rwanda.
"It's
used to make natural insecticide," explains Laher Nyirakwiha, a barefoot
70-year-old farmer as she tosses a handful of small daisy-like flowers into a
wicker basket.
 |
A woman
harvests pyrethre flowers, which will
later be dried to produce pyrethrum, a
natural
insecticide, in Musanze, northern Rwanda , on
October 24, 2013 (AFP,
Stephanie Aglietti)
|
Few grow
the plant commercially: only here, in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania and in
Australia, mainly on the island of Tasmania.
The revival
of this crop, first introduced in colonial times, is one of Rwanda's recent
attempts to diversify its sources of foreign currency, generated mainly by tea,
coffee and tourism.
Agriculture
still accounted for one-third of the economy of this densely populated central
African country in 2012.
"Rwanda
decided to develop pyrethrum as a cash crop, so as to get an additional source
of revenue for farmers and another foreign exchange earner," Jerome
Mureramanzi, production manager at the Rwanda Pyrethrum Company (Sopyrwa) told
AFP.
Pyrethrum
was first introduced here as a crop in 1936, but dropped off after Rwanda's
devastating 1994 genocide, only being revived a decade or so later.
Tasmania is
currently thought to be the world's biggest producer, industry sources say,
although Kenya, another big producer, stopped publishing statistics a decade
ago.
The
pyrethrum is exported to the United States, Europe and Asia, while some is sold
to a local company that produces organic insecticides.
Pyrethrum
cultivation, like every other type of economic activity, was abandoned after
the 1994 genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people died, and which left the
country's social and economic life in ruins.
Environmental
considerations were a factor motivating its revival.
"As
the world becomes more conscious of the need to protect the environment, Rwanda
has seized the opportunity to develop this natural insecticide,"
Mureramanzi added.
 |
Women
harvest pyrethre flowers, which will later be dried to produce pyrethrum,
a
natural insecticide, in Musanze, northern Rwanda , on October 24, 2013
(AFP,
Stephanie Aglietti)
|
Other
producing countries are also seeking to revive or expand cultivation the crop.
Australia is introducing pyrethrum to parts of the mainland, and the crop is
also being revived in neighbouring Papua New Guinea.
Another
east African country, Uganda, recently sent a team to Rwanda with a view to
growing the crop.
'Win-win'
scheme
The plant,
from the chrysanthemum family, contains the organic substance pyrethrin, which
acts on the central nervous system of insects.
"Pyrethrum
kills a wide variety of insects without any impact on the environment, as its
organic compound is very quickly destroyed by ultraviolet rays,"
Mureramanzi said.
The flowers
are dried and processed, then the honey-coloured extract is exported, mainly to
the United States and to Europe.
Between
2009 and 2013, annual production of dried flower heads rose from 200 tonnes to
1,300 tonnes, according to Sopyrwa, with revenue rising seven fold to $7
million (five million euros).
The plant
will not grow at altitudes lower than 1800 metres (5,900 feet) and needs cold
nights and generous rainfall.
This region
of rich volcanic soil where northern Rwanda meets Uganda and neighbouring
Democratic Republic of Congo, with its lashing rain and chilly nights, fits the
bill exactly.
Some 37,000
Rwandan peasant farmers live from this crop, whose cultivation covers some
3,000 hectares (7,500 acres).
Under the
terms of a deal between the government and the farmers, some of the farmers
have to use at least 40 percent of their land for growing pyrethrum.
 |
Mountain
Gorillas frolick in dense undergrowth at the Virunga National park
in Rwanda on
June 17, 2012 (AFP/File, Aude Genet)
|
The
remaining 60 percent can be planted with food crops, while the farmers are also
obliged to alternate so that pyrethrum is not planted on the same part of every
plot the whole time.
Sopyrwa's
director general Gabriel Bizimungu said that the company provides its farmers
with seeds and fertiliser, builds drying stations for the flowers and pays its
farmers on time.
The farmers
have organised themselves into cooperatives to which they sell their crops at
fixed prices.
"It
allows farmers to diversify their sources of income and Sopyrwa buys all of
their production," Mureramanzi said, adding that farmers can access
interest-free loans through the cooperatives.
"It's
a win-win situation," said Jean-Claude Kayisinga from the Rwanda Pyrethrum
Program.
The
programme, funded by USAID and Wisconsin-based cleaning products manufacturer
S.C.Johnson, has been training farmers since 2009 on how to increase yields and
improve the quality of the pyrethrum flowers they cultivate.
Farmers get
virtually the same profits as they do from growing potatoes and alternating
crops means the productivity of food crops is improved.
Not only
does growing pyrethrum help fight erosion, it also enriches the soil, meaning
better crops of food staples such as potatoes or cabbages.
Related Articles:
Question: Dear Kryon:
I would appreciate a perspective on the following: There seems to be two
opposed schools of thought with respect to pesticides and their use. One group
categorically states that they are very dangerous and that they are responsible
for causing cancers etc... (there's a very long list!!) The other group
naturally claims that they are perfectly safe with today's technological
advances etc.
Answer: The
chemicals you are using today are dangerous to your health. The more they are
used, the more it will be seen over time. We have indicated before that there
are far better natural scientific solutions to protecting your crops. Use
biology to balance biology. It is non-toxic and simply an alteration of what
already exists.
No comments:
Post a Comment