In Mayange sector, Bugesera District, lives
Thaddée Munyemana, a prominent fruit farmer
who appears to see opportunities where others
don't.
Having lived all his life on farmland, Munyemana
has tried almost all types of crops that can grow
in Rwanda. Some have disappointed him; others
have changed his life, while some few have
earned him a fortune.
Now the 56-year-old farmer earns about Rwf2
million per season from a 12-acre piece of land.
How he started
Born in a subsistence peasant family,
Munyemana never set foot in a classroom.
Instead, he joined his parents in a struggle to put
food on the table.
"I never complained because the situation was
clear to me. My parents could not afford school
fees. The situation was not any different for most
children in my village-one had to struggle on
your own... "
A few privileged children, however, attended
school and Munyemana admired them.
"We used to admire those children from rich
families who went to school, especially whenever
they returned to village during school holidays."
Taking his call seriously, Munyemana started on
two acres of land he inherited from his departed
parents. He cultivated traditional crops including
cassava, beans, and maize.
"I realised that farming without specialising would
not lead me anywhere. I struggled to put my
name across the market, nobody knew me until I
decided to specialise in cassava and maize."
Yet as people's standards of living kept
improving, most started looking at traditional
food crops like cassava as secondary. "Coupled
with the risk of attack by pests and diseases,
cassava farming was never going to be a good
venture for me either," he added.
Turning point
After he lost four acres of maize due to drought
in 2001, Munyemana decided that it was time to
switch to fruits. "Life almost came to a standstill
given the debt I owed to those who supplied me
maize seeds and fertilisers. I took a decision that
changed my life to date-that is growing mangoes
on a large scale."