BUJUMBURA May 9th (ABP) – MPs met on Tuesday May 7, 2019 to analyze the report of the Standing Commission on Agriculture, Livestock, Environment, Communal Development and Public Works, after the trips made to the pilot provinces.
Commission Chairman Bernard Ndayisenga said the main objective of the trips was to assess the state of affairs of the government’s activities in the field of agriculture and livestock. During those trips, members of the commission had the opportunity to visit the cooperatives as well as the factories installed in the provinces chosen as pilots, Ndayisenga added.
These pilot provinces are Bubanza, Bujumbura, Cibitoke, Gitega, Ngozi, Karusi and Kayanza. The chair of the commission listed the places visited: these include the “AKA” cooperative (Akantu Kagirwa n’Akandi), the mushroom production sites and the slaughterhouse located in Bugendana, Gitega province. The MPs also visited the bean fields fertilized by the chemical fertilizer processed by the local company FOMI-IMBURA of Bujumbura and the coffee factory “Horamama” located in Kayanza.
All of those cooperatives and factories visited face challenges, including the lack of market for manufactured products and unfavorable working conditions. Despite those challenges, the chairman of the commission said that the situation is normal in that people find profits from those cooperatives and factories.
In answering the questions of the MPs, the Minister in charge of Agriculture, Mr. Deo Guide Rurema, pointed out that the exemptions on equipment used in agriculture are planned. He took the opportunity to point out that Burundi coffee has been ranked first in quality, adding that this crop can be associated with other crops and provide a good yield.
Regarding the export of coffee, Mr. Rurema said that the government will take steps to ensure that the coffee grower earns a little more.
