Food production increased in past five years, Minister of Agriculture says

“The government is pleased with the food security observed across the country. People no longer flee famine as it happened in 2002 and 2016, “said Déo Guide Rurema, the Burundian Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock at a press conference on 7 April.

Déo Guide Rurema, Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock

He says this food security is due to the increase in agricultural production over the past five years. “The production of maize increased from 139 211 tons in 2015 to 890, 162 tons in 2020. Rice production moved from 55, 952 tons in 2015 to more than 300,000 tons in 2020. While the production of potatoes increased from 55, 686 tons to 134,430 tons, that of beans increased from 90,218 tons in 2015 to 146,903 tons in 2020,” reads the agricultural production report of the past five years.

Minister Rurema explains that this is due to the combination of several production factors such as the availability of chemical fertilizers and good quality seeds through subsidy programs, methods initiated by the government to fight against erosion as well as the use of improved farming techniques.

Thus, the production of maize rose from 0.8268 tons / ha in 2015 to 3 tons / ha in 2020; the rice production increased from 5.529 tons / ha in 2015 to 6.45 tons / ha in 2020; the potato increased from 6,607 tons / ha in 2015 to 15.32 tons / ha in 2020 while that of beans increased from 0.6782 tons / ha in 2015 to 1.150 tons / ha.

The Minister of Agriculture adds that the increase in cultivable areas for rice and maize has greatly contributed to the increase in agricultural production thanks to marshland management programs. “The area of ​​developed marshes increased from 12,250 ha in 2015 to 17,474 ha in 2020,” reads the same report.

Mr Rurema says the agricultural production increased in 2020 compared to 2019 following the government’s initiative to encourage farmers to work in cooperatives.

He reassured that the production of the 2020 B growing season will be abundant if the climate remains the same since the necessary fertilizers and seeds are available.