BUJUMBURA June 15th (ABP) – Cooperatives make a remarkable contribution to the economic development of Gihanga commune, underlined the administrator of this commune of Bubanza province (north-west), Mr. Léopold Ndayisaba, during an interview given to the media on Thursday, June 9, 2022, on the sidelines of the visit of the Minister in charge of information technologies, Mrs. Léocadie Ndacayisaba, to the center of the congregation of the “Bene Mukama” sisters housing the elderly.
Administrator Ndayisaba indicated that most of the communal people devote itself to rural activities especially for the cultivation of rice, while another part takes care of other varied economic activities, among others, the breeding of cattle and small cattle, trade and crafts. He also specified that the Gihanga commune has set itself the objective of working in cooperatives to increase production. A considerable step has been taken through the transformation of associations into cooperatives, she said, meaning that non-profit associations did not generate income.
Administrator Ndayisaba pointed out that the commune currently has more than 90 cooperatives which generate income, without forgetting the Sangwe cooperatives which are also active at the level of each hill of the commune.
He said that the population is delighted with the current rice harvest, which is good thanks to the intervention of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and the Environment which, after receiving the complaints of rice farmers, encouraged the FOMI factory to grant them all the quantity of organo-mineral fertilizers required to be able to fertilize the rice fields.
According to that communal authority, this harvest will allow rice cooperatives to repay loans contracted with microfinance institutions, and carry out other income-generating activities without forgetting to meet other basic needs.
Thanks to the campaign of the month-witness launched by the Ministry of Interior, Community Development and Public Security, Mr. Ndayisaba reported that the commune can collect 60 million against 40 million which was collected before the launch of that campaign. The commune benefits from these taxes and levies collected, which allows it to extend its action plan in all sectors, he said.
Given that women are considered the pillars of household development, Administrator Ndayisaba indicated that disputes in households and the phenomenon of cohabitation observed during the rice harvest period are on the way out following certain measures that have been taken to eradicate these phenomena which handicap the development of the commune.
Finally, he calls on his population to respect the price of rice as fixed by the ministry in charge of agriculture, while recalling that the kilo of paddy rice costs 1300 BIF, while the kilo of pulverized rice costs 2300 BIF.