BUJUMBURA October 20th (ABP) – Small potato farmers in Mugongomanga commune, Bujumbura province (western Burundi), want to put an end to the lack of potatoes, which they face every year in season A, noted the ABP, Wednesday October 18 in that town.
The provincial directorate of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock (DPEAE), in collaboration with the collective of seed producers of Burundi (COPROSEBU) supported by the Cooperative Savings and loan Mutual Bank, CECM, organized, Wednesday, October 18, 2023, a visit to the model fields to popularize the technique of growing potatoes in flower beds, a practice already mastered and which gives a large production, estimated at ten times that that we invested, according to practitioners.
Mrs. Ménédore Ndayishimiye from Rutambiro village said that she has been practicing flowerbed agriculture since 2013, at the instigation of ISABU and ASARECA, who had chosen her as a modern breeder, adding that for the moment she wants to join COPROSEBU.
Mr. Marc Bacanamwo, agronomist of ISABU and secretary general of COPROSEBU revealed the benefits of that practice of flowerbeds. He indicated that we make small fields that everyone can do, with small means, and easy to maintain, easy to irrigate and protect against diseases. He added that the CECM grants them agricultural microcredits, in order to invest in seed production.
Mr. Bacanamwo revealed that the flower beds are practiced on other crops such as corn, beans, adding that his wish is that the seeds are produced and purchased on site and that there are no more seeds that move from regions to others and vice versa. It should be noted that the farmers of Mugongomanga are on a good start in the cultivation of potatoes and are competing with the Mukike commune. Villages are green with potato and maize crops.