BUJUMBURA-During a visit that the President of Republic of Burundi, His Excellency Evariste Ndayishimiye made this Tuesday, April 18, 2023 in the Mukike and Rusaka communes, respectively in Bujumbura and Mwaro province, communes which had experienced, for several years, socio-economic challenges-economic related to low agro-pastoral productivity; the population of these two municipalities united within the cooperatives says they are committed to producing potatoes to satisfy the domestic and international market.
Photo by Burundi State House.In Mukike of Bujumbura province, the President of the Republic, His Excellency Evariste Ndayishimiye began his visit to the potato fields of the Sangwe cooperatives of Kanyunya in the Rukina zone, before visiting a former civil servant and currently a farmer -modern breeder of the same locality.
After a guided tour of his agro-pastoral estate, His Excellency Evariste Ndayishimiye invited other retirees to follow in his footsteps by maintaining development projects.
In Rusaka commune of Mwaro, the Burundian Number One visited a 3.5 hectare potato field of the Sangwe cooperative of Gasenyi hill.
President Ndayishimiye encourages this cooperative which has already achieved a turnover of 153 million 350 miles since 2019.
In each of these two communes, His Excellency Evariste Ndayishimiye held a meeting with members of various cooperatives, natives and administrative officials where he was delighted with the step taken in development projects.
"Instead of being cultivated, some land was covered with trees and dry grass. I winked at the administration and the population to transform these unproductive grasses and trees into food crops,”he recalled.
The Head of State notes with satisfaction that his advice has been heard and followed where almost all the hills have cooperatives invested in the development of their locality.
He was also pleased to find that the grassroots administrators took the lead in setting a good example for the population.
“Currently, it is clear that the Burundian population has changed its behavior by joining cooperatives to exchange opinions on development projects,” he added.
The President of the Republic, His Excellency Evariste Ndayishimiye also said he was satisfied with the good results recorded by these communes Mukike and Rusaka which have taken a remarkable pace in the execution of development projects, thanks to unity and social cohesion.
"Our unity is our strength", specified President Ndayishimiye before calling on all citizens to remain calm because, he said, "peace is the source of development".
“Our common enemy is none other than poverty. Let us change our old mentalities by responding to the vision of responsible and hardworking government by practicing modern agriculture and animal husbandry”.
During these talks, the representatives of the cooperatives of the Mukike communes of the province of Bujumbura and Rusaka of the province of Mwaro had the opportunity to express themselves, through their testimonies, on the way in which they managed to succeed in their agro-pastoral projects within their respective cooperatives.
“We had some ups and downs to start with. Some had even despaired, believing that their cooperatives were going to go bankrupt. But, since we had a common vision, we persisted and eventually succeeded,” they revealed.
Regarding the choice of potato crop, the cooperatives of Mukike and Rusaka communes indicate that this crop is very productive and beneficial.
Many started to cultivate on a small area but over time they have enlarged the fields and at the moment they even manage to harvest more than 140 tons for a single season. These cooperatives want their products to be sold in other provinces to supply the entire Burundian population.
However, these cooperatives deplore the fact that some inter-zonal roads are defective, which makes the sale of their production a problem.
They ask the Head of State to rehabilitate these roads to facilitate these commercial exchanges as well as the exercise of various activities.
Local administrators, for their part, affirmed that they took the lead in preaching by example to their constituents. They specified that in the early days, the population resisted and refused to change their behavior.
“The population advocated having many cows and saw this as great wealth. Also, she thought that preserving a large land for the cows is an advantage for the households”, testified the administrator of the commune Mukike during his intervention.
“However, the local cows do not give much production. We have thus organized awareness sessions on all the hills,” he explained.
The administrators affirm that with the collaboration of the population, they will continue to develop projects aimed at the development of the country in general and their municipalities in particular.
After a guided tour of his agro-pastoral estate, His Excellency Evariste Ndayishimiye invited other retirees to follow in his footsteps by maintaining development projects.
In Rusaka commune of Mwaro, the Burundian Number One visited a 3.5 hectare potato field of the Sangwe cooperative of Gasenyi hill.
President Ndayishimiye encourages this cooperative which has already achieved a turnover of 153 million 350 miles since 2019.
In each of these two communes, His Excellency Evariste Ndayishimiye held a meeting with members of various cooperatives, natives and administrative officials where he was delighted with the step taken in development projects.
"Instead of being cultivated, some land was covered with trees and dry grass. I winked at the administration and the population to transform these unproductive grasses and trees into food crops,”he recalled.
The Head of State notes with satisfaction that his advice has been heard and followed where almost all the hills have cooperatives invested in the development of their locality.
He was also pleased to find that the grassroots administrators took the lead in setting a good example for the population.
“Currently, it is clear that the Burundian population has changed its behavior by joining cooperatives to exchange opinions on development projects,” he added.
The President of the Republic, His Excellency Evariste Ndayishimiye also said he was satisfied with the good results recorded by these communes Mukike and Rusaka which have taken a remarkable pace in the execution of development projects, thanks to unity and social cohesion.
"Our unity is our strength", specified President Ndayishimiye before calling on all citizens to remain calm because, he said, "peace is the source of development".
“Our common enemy is none other than poverty. Let us change our old mentalities by responding to the vision of responsible and hardworking government by practicing modern agriculture and animal husbandry”.
During these talks, the representatives of the cooperatives of the Mukike communes of the province of Bujumbura and Rusaka of the province of Mwaro had the opportunity to express themselves, through their testimonies, on the way in which they managed to succeed in their agro-pastoral projects within their respective cooperatives.
“We had some ups and downs to start with. Some had even despaired, believing that their cooperatives were going to go bankrupt. But, since we had a common vision, we persisted and eventually succeeded,” they revealed.
Regarding the choice of potato crop, the cooperatives of Mukike and Rusaka communes indicate that this crop is very productive and beneficial.
Many started to cultivate on a small area but over time they have enlarged the fields and at the moment they even manage to harvest more than 140 tons for a single season. These cooperatives want their products to be sold in other provinces to supply the entire Burundian population.
However, these cooperatives deplore the fact that some inter-zonal roads are defective, which makes the sale of their production a problem.
They ask the Head of State to rehabilitate these roads to facilitate these commercial exchanges as well as the exercise of various activities.
Local administrators, for their part, affirmed that they took the lead in preaching by example to their constituents. They specified that in the early days, the population resisted and refused to change their behavior.
“The population advocated having many cows and saw this as great wealth. Also, she thought that preserving a large land for the cows is an advantage for the households”, testified the administrator of the commune Mukike during his intervention.
“However, the local cows do not give much production. We have thus organized awareness sessions on all the hills,” he explained.
The administrators affirm that with the collaboration of the population, they will continue to develop projects aimed at the development of the country in general and their municipalities in particular.