MUYINGA October 16th (ABP) – Farmers in Muyinga province (north-eastern Burundi) are expecting a satisfactory production for the 2019 crop season C especially for maize planted on large areas in marshes, estimates Roger Sendegeya, the Director of the Provincial Office of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock (BPEAE). According to him, the farmers gave a place of choice to the cultivation of the maize and several hundred hectares in the marshes were sown and this, thanks to the sensitization of the farmers to the mono-cropping. As far as the eye can see in the marshes, a passer-by can witness lush greenery. Farmers joined together under the supervision of BPEAE to buy hybrid maize seeds from Zambia. They were able to collect a considerable sum of 46 million Burundian francs for the purchase of seeds. They did the sowing in rows, combining organic manure and chemical fertilizer. By December, the maize will be ripe, and several tons are expected, says Sendegeya. More than 600 hectares of marsh for the entire province are covered in maize somewhat associated with beans. Asked about the worries of farmers, the director of BPEAE mentioned the fall armyworm that attacks maize. But today, this insect no longer causes damage as last year, he added. No more pesticide needed to kill the armyworm. The farmers, grouped in associations or cooperatives make a trip for a manual struggle. They can crush the armyworms they catch in fields or collect them and use them to feed poultry, he explained. According to his estimates, it will be possible to produce between four and five tons per hectare. The production received will be kept in pic bags and then stored in community warehouses scattered in the seven communes. Beside maize, other farmers have, according to their wishes and in common agreement with the BPEAE, grown beans, sweet potatoes and potatoes. These three crops are ripe and is time to harvest, says the same source.
Mr. Sendegeya calls on farmers to manage properly the production that will come out of the 2019 crop season C, in order to avoid the painful period that may arise. “They have to get to the 2020 crop season A without any problem,” he said.
