Supporting organic vegetable growers in Africa

Regaining trust

One of the initiators of the training session held was Heleen Bos, Specialist Marketing Organics at Rijk Zwaan. She is delighted with this first step. “Consumers in Africa often don’t trust traditionally grown vegetables. I hear people say they cause stomach problems. African growers tend to use more chemical crop protection agents than necessary. Organic methods are better from a food safety perspective, so consumers don’t have to feel uneasy about eating vegetables.”

Taking it to the next level

Gilbert Tuyisenge was immediately enthusiastic about the idea of organising a training session. He is manager at Holland Greentech, the company that sells Rijk Zwaan’s hybrid vegetable varieties in eastern Africa. “We noticed that our crop advisors and growers wanted to know more about organic cultivation methods, so we set up this training together with PUM and Rijk Zwaan. By working together with each other and the participants, we can take organic growing to the next level.”

Focus on soil health

The trainer during the first session was Willem Klaassen. He is one of the senior horticulture professionals affiliated with the Dutch organisation PUM, which provides advice on a volunteer basis worldwide. “We gave the participants a good foundation by focusing on soil health, integrated pest management (IPM) and natural ways of controlling pests and diseases,” Willem says.

Continuous improvement

Attendees could experience these foundational principles in practice at Pride Farms, a leading organic growing company that also participated in the training. Farm Manager Serge Muhire already uses compost to enhance soil health. He also applies the biological agent Trianum-P against soilborne fungi and a mix of neem oil and organic soap against thrips and whitefly. “The training has given us even more insights. In the future, we want to keep improving: day by day, year by year,” he comments.

More composting

Another participant who gained new knowledge was Jean Baptiste Tuyishimire, production manager at Sunripe Farms. “We’ve run small-scale organic cultivation trials at our company and it’s certainly not easy,” he states. “Thanks to the training, I know how important soil health is. Therefore, we’re going to analyse the soil and do more composting ourselves. We also want to make more frequent use of insect traps – not only to monitor thrips, but also to control them. That way, organic farming can contribute to healthier vegetable production.”

Sharing experiences

According to Jacques Tuyishime, regional director East Africa at Holland Greentech, the training session was a good start. “The participants have created a WhatsApp group so that they can continue to share their experiences with each other after the training. This is an example of how working together can help us seize opportunities to develop the organic market.”