Seasonal Agricultural Survey - 2015

Datasource: 

Seasonal Agricultural Survey

Period: 

September, 2014 to August, 2015

The 2015 Seasonal Agricultural Survey (SAS) covered the agricultural seasons for the year 2015 in Rwanda. The datasource has covered three agricultural seasons (A, B and C) for the year 2015 in Rwanda.

Crop land

 In 2015 Season A, the main crops were Banana (22.9% of the total cultivated area), Cassava (21.5% of the total cultivated area), Beans (19.8% of the total cultivated area), and Maize (12.4% of the total cultivated area). Other crops took 23.4% of the total cultivated area. 

In 2015 Season B, the main crops were Banana (23.1% of the total cultivated area), Cassava (22.8% of the total cultivated area), Beans (16.6% of the total cultivated area), Sorghum (8.8% of the total cultivated area) and Maize (5.2% of the total cultivated area). Other crops took 23.5% of the total cultivated area. 

Season C was quite different as the main crops were Irish Potatoes (34.5%of the total cultivated area), Sweet Potatoes (20.5% of the total cultivated area), Vegetables (16.9%of the total cultivated area) and Beans (17.2% of the total cultivated area). Other crops took 10.9% of the total cultivated area.

Use of seeds and fertilizers

 For Agricultural operators, the survey illustrated the following information: 

  • The use of traditional seeds: between 84% and 88% of Agricultural operators used traditional seeds during all seasons.
  • The use of improved seeds: between 12% and 15% of Agricultural operators used improved seeds during all agricultural seasons.
  • The use of organic fertilizers: between 43% and 65% of Agricultural operators used organic fertilizers during all seasons.
  • The use of inorganic fertilizers: between 14% and 21% of Agricultural operators used inorganic fertilizers in season A and B while in season C they were 46%.

Use of pesticides

The survey illustrated that the use of pesticides varies with agriculture seasons. Therefore: 

  • In season A and B, they have been 9.1% and 7.9% of all Agricultural Operators respectively.
  • In season C, they reached 53.3% of all Agricultural Operators. Among the Large-Scale farmers, the percentage of those who used pesticides was 46.7% and 32.9% during Season A and B respectively.

Production

Season A: In Season A, Tubers and Roots (37.4%) gained the highest share of crop production by groups of crops in Rwanda followed by Banana (27.9%) and Cereals (10.5%). The contributions of the group of Vegetables and Fruits and the group of Legumes and Pulses were respectively 4.7% and 7.8%. 

Season B: In Season B, the group of Tubers and Roots had again the highest share of crop production (41.4%) followed by Banana (27.2%) and Cereals (7.5%).Other crop groups contributed as follows: Legumes and Pulses (6.4%) and Vegetables and Fruits (4.4%).

Season C: In season C, the highest share of crop production was Irish Potatoes (55.7%) followed by Vegetables (34.0%), Sweet potatoes (8.0%) and Beans (2.2%). Other individual crops contributed less than 2.0%.

Reference documents (PDF & Excel)