The Effect of Post Harvest Handling Technology on Maize Income in Rwanda: A Case Study of PASP in Kayonza District

The purpose of this research was to assess the contribution of post-harvest handling technology on maize income in the Climate Resilient Post-harvest and Agribusiness Support Project (PASP) of Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) in Kayonza district with the following objectives; to identify the contribution of storage technology on maize income in Kayonza district, to assess the effect of drying technology on maize income in Kayonza district and to examine the influence of packaging technology on maize income in Kayonza district. The researcher reviewed both theoretical and empirical literature related to post harvest handling technology and maize income, a critical review of existing literature was done to identify the gap to be filled by the research. The research design used was descriptive and analytical while the population was 80 including 20 employees of PASP project and 60 communities from Kayonza district and the sample size was 44 respondents. Data collection tools were questionnaires and interviews while the collected data was presented using tables and analyzed based on percentages and frequencies. The researcher found out that packaging technology in maize is able to be kept and lead to improvements in quality. When maize is well packed packages lead to improvements in value leading to increased income. Packaging increased the appearance which is attributed to quality and this makes customers buy more of packaged maize since it is considered to be safe and leading to increased income. The researcher concluded that thorough drying and packaging, maize value is improved as well as than physical appearance which are all attributes of improved values and justification for selling at higher or reasonable prices. The researcher recommended that farmers in Kayonza district should continue using improved post-harvest handling technology so as to improve quality and increase maize income.