BUJUMBURA July 8th (ABP) – The existence of the organo-mineral fertilizer company (FOMI) contributes greatly to the development of the country, according to the director of research at that company, Mr. Herménégilde Manyange, during an interview he gave to a check by the ABP.
Mr. Manyange says the benefits of FOMI are multi-sectoral.
Agronomically, FOMI has offered the Burundian people in general and farmers in particular fertilizers that contain all the nutrients necessary for the good growth of a crop. Those fertilizers produced by FOMI are a mixture of mineral fertilizers and organic manure. That is when the imported mineral organic manure destroy the soil by promoting its acidification.
The director of research at FOMI also spoke about the economic benefit it provides to farmers and to the country.
FOMI’s fertilizer is cheaper for farmers compared to conventional fertilizers used before those produced by FOMI, Manyange said. According to him, a bag of FOMI fertilizer subsidized by the state costs 29,000BIF while a bag of DAP fertilizer subsidized by the state cost 34,000BIF.
Another advantage is that the farmer spent a lot of time mixing the different types of fertilizer he had to buy to get all the elements that a crop needs.
For the country, Mr. Manyange spoke of the reduction in the import of fertilizers by up to 50% because, he explained, part of the mineral fertilizers has been replaced by organic manure. The foreign exchange thus allocated to the import of fertilizers is currently used in other sectors of the life of the country, said the director of research at the company FOMI.
Furthermore, Mr. Manyange also mentioned the environmental advantage, meaning that organo-mineral fertilizers have greatly contributed to the reduction of chemical elements which are toxic to the life of soil microorganisms and which could be toxic to the human life.
“Fertilizers manufactured at FOMI have come to clean up the environment,” he said, adding that the crops grown from crops fertilized with organo-mineral fertilizer are free from traces of minerals.
Lastly, Mr. Manyange cited the benefit. According to him, the company FOMI has remarkably reduced unemployment. The company has 1,000 employees, including more than 400 contract workers and other day workers, he said, adding that this contributes to the development of the country.