Members of Parliament (MPs) commended measures put in place by the Government of Rwanda to increase productivity by providing farmers with agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and improved seeds. However, they called for more efforts to address the challenges that farmers are facing to surge their productivity.
MPs made the recommendations during the timely presentation of the Prime Minister Dr Edouard Ngirente to Parliament. In his presentation, Prime Minister Dr. Ngirente Edouard began by highlighting the importance of the agriculture sector as the greatest contributor to the employment especially for the youth.
Prime Minister also noted that in a bid to address the issue of importing costly seeds, the Government embarked on a seed multiplication program. The Premier indicated that the Government of Rwanda, through the subsidy program known as Nkunganire, delivered about 8,875 tons of seeds to farmers. The budget meant for this activity grew from RWF 4 billion in 2018-2019 to more than RWF 11 billion in 2021-2022.
He mentioned the significant role played by the Crop Intensification Program (CIP) in raising awareness about the importance of using fertilizers. As a result, by 2021, the quantity of fertilizers applied per hectare reached 60 kilograms, up from 32 kilograms in 2017, an increase of 87.5%.
Prime Minister recalled that prices of fertilizers have risen sharply at the International market due to various factors, including the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted international trade and logistics, export ban from many fertilizer-producing countries as well as the increase in gas prices.
The Premier further explained to the parliamentarians, the strategies adopted by the Government of Rwanda in subsidizing fertilizers and other agricultural inputs to support Rwandan farmers. (End).