BUJUMBURA July 26th (ABP) – The Cabinet met on Wednesday July 22, 2022, chaired by the President of the Republic of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye.
After the Secretary General of the State and Spokesperson, Prosper Ntahorwamiye released Thursday, July 21, 2022, a related press release.
A concept-note on the project to build modern storage sheds and set up processing units for food security was presented by the Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock. In order to properly conserve and manage agricultural production to ensure food security, the government plans to have 4 large regional sheds which constitute a national stock. For the first phase, the regional hangars of Karusi and Ngozi will be built, and for the 2nd phase, those of Rutana and Bubanza.
According to Ntahorwamiye, the objective is to build modern hangars equipped with storage and conservation infrastructure.
On that same point, two options that have been proposed, namely hybrid hangars and multifunctional dry hangars, hybrid hangars (dry and cold) have been retained.
Note that those sheds will be built using the matching funds from the Japanese donation consisting of rice, fuel and others. The project will be executed by the Japanese company KONOIKE.
After analysis of the note, the Council of Ministers supported the project.
During the said Council of Ministers, a note on the challenges related to the lack of veterinary doctors and specialists in animal production as well as the proposed solutions, was also presented by the Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and breeding. In order to develop the livestock sector, the Government of Burundi had set up an efficient veterinary service which included a veterinary doctor in each province, a veterinary technician in each commune, a nurse-veterinarian level of each zone, with an equipped veterinary center at the level of each zone, with an equipped veterinary center and dip bath.
Following government initiatives to make livestock breeding one of the pillars of development, the livestock sector has seen positive progress in the national herd following the implementation of restocking and genetic improvement programs by artificial insemination. This note proposes strategies for strengthening veterinary services by providing them with qualified human resources through staff training, recruitment and replacement of retired staff.
After the analysis, the Council of Ministers approved the solutions proposed by the note.
The board also recommended reallocating the budget for scholarships from the Ministry of National Education to put the training of veterinarians among the priorities. It was also recommended to call retired veterinarians back to work, initiate capacity building for veterinarians, encourage the private sector to invest in the training of veterinarians, create a faculty of veterinary medicine at the University of Burundi, provide veterinarians with sufficient equipment.