KAYANZA May 16th (ABP) – The Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Mr. Déo Guide Rurema, proceeded on Tuesday May 14, 2019 to the launch of the works for the development of the hydro-agricultural marsh of the Ruvubu and the construction of the bridge connecting the Butaganzwa and Muhanga communes of Kayanza province (northern Burundi), a check by ABP revealed.
In his welcoming speech, the governor of Kayanza province, Mr. Anicet Ndayizeye, pointed out that peace and security are a reality, the reason why people of his province go about their daily activities. Governor Ndayizeye took the opportunity to call on the people of his province to continue to keep peace and tighten security, especially since, according to him, on the eve of the elections, rumors can be conveyed here and there.
As a result, he asked the people of Muhanga commune in particular, and the entire province in general, to remain united and calm, watching over the back and forth movements, which, according to Mr. Ndayizeye, will allow the increase of production in different sectors. With that in mind, the Governor invited the owners of the hydro-agricultural marsh under development not to take into account the lost area, but rather to consider the production that will come from those marshes once developed.
The same for the Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Mr. Déo Guide Rurema who indicated in his occasional speech that the project of development of the said marsh which extends on an area of 800 hectares (ha) will last 10 months and it will cost more than 11 billion BIF. For Minister Rurema, the development of the Ruvubu hydro-agricultural marsh will benefit the people not only of Muhanga, but also of the rest of the country. First, he pointed out, this development works on the Ruvubu hydro-agricultural marsh will increase production, since an undeveloped ha that produced between 2 and 3 tons of rice will, from now on, produce no less than six tons, which justifies that the hydro-agricultural marsh will have to produce 4,800 tons of rice for a single season.
In the same vein, Minister Rurema pointed out that the development of the Ruvubu marsh will contribute to the implementation of the ministerial program of regionalization of intensification crops, such as corn, without ignoring that they will allow horticulture, which will link food security with nutrition
Second, Minister Rurema pointed out that households will be able to improve their income. Once the marsh has been developed, the same minister promised that there will be no more dry season, because there will be enough water to handle the rural work of the Ruvubu marsh.
Third, he said, the people working in this marsh will be regrouped in associations or cooperatives which will be an asset for the responsible ministry, because it will be easy to transport inputs, whether the fertilizers or improved seeds, not to mention the supervision and capacity building.
As the hydro-agricultural marsh of Ruvubu gives access to the neighboring province of Ngozi (north), Minister Rurema testified that the production that will come from there will not only be consumed by the people of Muhanga, but by all the surrounding ones, because the objective of the Ministry in charge of agriculture is to allow all Burundians to have what to eat.
Addressing those responsible for implementing the Ruvubu marsh project, he invited them to collaborate with the administration and the technical services for the smooth running of the works. The People of the constituency were asked to ensure that there be no embezzlement of materials, especially since those development works will be of paramount importance to them.
Note that the activities of launching those works of developing the marsh and constructing the bridge connecting the Butaganzwa and Muhanga communes were attended by the executives of the ministry in charge of farming sector, the governors of the Kayanza and Ngozi provinces and agro-pastoral partners such as the Farming Sector Development Project (PRODEFI) supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
