11-07-2014 ■ The government promised people to provide chemical fertilizers at a reasonable price. Farmers paid for the scheme in August. Three months later the fertilizers are not sufficientlyavailable.-By J.Berchmans Siboniyo Tradesmen were barred from selling fertilizer in Gitega. Odette Kayitesi, the Minister of Agriculture is very clear about it. “How (...)

10-27-2014 ■ The level of hunger in Burundi is “extremely alarming” according to theInternational Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). In this light, it might seem surprising that the government recently withdrew BIF 900 million from the agricultural sector.-By Diane Uwimana The IFPRIcombines three equally weighted indicators: the proportion of people who are (...)

10-24-2014 ■ The President signed a decree withdrawing BIF 7,400 million from the budget and transferring it to the 2015 election process. The decree was signed on August 30, but was not made public until last week.-J.Berchmans Siboniyo Complaints and consternation fill the hearts of the beneficiaries. Cecile Ntahondereye, the Headmistress (...)

09-29-2014 ■ Mitigating measures are taken to increase resilience to climate change.-By Diane Uwimana Evariste Sinarinzi, a civil servant at the Burundi Geographical Institute (IGEBU) and a Water and Climate Change Expert, indicates that during several years, IGEBU observed that the length of the rainy season was the same as the dry (...)

08-30-2014 ■ East African member states and other countries inCentral East Africa are facing alarming levels of food insecurity and related problems. NGO’s in collaboration with some ministries are helping in tackling the issue.-By J.Berchmans Siboniyo Food is becoming scarce in many parts of East Africa.Aid agencies estimate thatabout20 million people (...)

08-21-2014 ■ Child protection NGO’s say that twenty-six thousand children are engaged in child labor throughout the country. Government’s regulations to fight against child labor are not well-known and poorly upheld. – By J.Berchmans Siboniyo In many popular quarters of Bujumbura city, we are accustomed to seeing little children who sell (...)

06-24-2014 ■ The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock has organized a four- day General Assembly (from 16th to 19th June 2014) to evaluate the situation and discuss challenges and perspectives to fight against malnutrition.-By Diane Uwimana “45% of children aged between 6 and 59 months are suffering from anaemia while 19% (...)

04-21-2014 ■ Burundi Government warns people who had lands near Kajeke River not to accept false rumors spread by crooks that they will receive compensations while the process was over.-Yves Didier Irakoze “There must be a compensation for those who had lands near Kajeke river area because of the work activities (...)

02-13-2014 ■ They have been given an appointment at Roca Golf Hotel to discuss in advance opportunities and challenges faced in this sector. – By Diane Uwimana Coming from 11 countries (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Ethiopia, DRC and Zimbabwe), women and young people engaged in the (...)

10-30-2013 ■ Since January 2013, new species of fish have been introduced in Lake Narungazi added to other three existing ones. People from Ntega Commune complain that they are not allowed to use anymore the water from that lake because some harmful products to human beings have been dropped into it (...)