Samenvatting

Irish potato was introduced in Rwanda in the beginning of 19th century and today is among the high cultivated crops in the country where it qualifies Rwanda to be 6th largest potato producer in Africa. It is the first purchased crop amongest food commodities market. It is rich in hydrocarbons and starch. The Rwanda Agriculture board and seed multipliers are the main sources seeds for farmers, however they remain scarce. At least 80% of seeds are imported fromUganda. Irish potato is highly produced in the Northern-western provinces in main four district among which Musanze is the first. A big amount of smallholder famers depends on potato production. Although the production continued to increase, farmers have been claiming to incur into losses due to middlemen who dictated prices and caused serious price fluctuation. This situation alarmed the Ministry of Trade and Industry which took the decision of organizing the potato value chain by stopping middlemen in the chain; and setting seasonal prices. However, the problem persisted. This study seeks to assess the efficiency of Irish Potato collection centers(PCCs) in leveraging smallholder farmers access to higher profitable markets in Musanze district. To achieve this objective, it was very important to find the response to the dynamics in the Irish potato value chain in Musanze District and strategies that potato collection centers can apply in Musanze to link farmers to higher profitable markets.