BUJUMBURA June 20th (ABP) – The MPs of the National Assembly unanimously adopted, on Friday June 17, 2022, during a plenary session, two bills, on the ratification by the Republic of Burundi, of the USD 10 million grant agreement, and the USD 53,700 million financing agreement between the Republic of Burundi and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), all going to the agricultural sector.
The Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Mr. Déo Guide Rurema indicated in his explanatory memorandum, that the first bill constitutes a donation from IFAD towards the Production Intensification Project Agriculture and Vulnerability Reduction in Burundi (PIPARV-B). He added that this project has already been underway since December 2019, and has a duration of 6 years.
According to Minister Rurema, the total funding for that project being 101,007 million USD, a gap of 23 million USD was noted after having received funding from various organizations. It is for that purpose that out of the 27,488 million USD already provided, IFAD is making an additional donation of 10 million USD, of which 8 million USD is a donation and 2 million USD is only a loan, he explained.
Mr. Rurema also specified that this project intervenes in five provinces namely Gitega, Karusi, Kayanza, Ngozi and Muyinga, thus covering 20 communes and 218 hills of the country. He also pointed out that this additional funding will be used in two activities, including the protection of watersheds and the development of marshes, as well as the rehabilitation of access roads and the construction of storage infrastructure.
Regarding the second bill, Minister Rurema said that it constitutes IFAD financing to the government of the Republic of Burundi, in its Rural Entrepreneurship Development Program (PRODER). A seven-year program, developed with the aim of ensuring sustainable food security, economic growth and improved incomes for the population, he said. That financing consists of a total of 53,700 million USD including a grant of 42,950 million and a loan of 10,750 million US dollars.
He thus indicated that PRODER will cover 12 provinces namely Bubanza, Cibitoke, Muramvya, Rutana, Ruyigi, Karusi, Kayanza, Ngozi, Gitega, Muyinga, Makamba and Bururi, stressing that the communes and villages of intervention of this program will be identified from its start.
After the explanatory memorandum, the first vice-president of the National Assembly, Ms. Sabine Ntakarutimana raised her concerns about respect for the environment, noting that cultivable land will be increased to the detriment of non-cultivable areas. Mr. Rurema reassured him that agroforestry trees will be multiplied and given to the cooperatives that will participate in this program.