On January 30, 2018, the State Minister in charge of agriculture, Fulgence Nsengiyumva, paid a visit to importers of agricultural inputs to check on the availability of the inputs for the planting season 2018B.
Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) has been working with different importers including YARA Group, Agro Processing Industry (API), Export Trading Group (ETG) and Tubura One Acre Fund to provide farmers with agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and improved seeds.
The State Minister reminded these companies that the government is committed to increasing agricultural productivity; hence timely supply of the agricultural inputs is very crucial to achieve this.
Since the launch of the Crop Intensification Programme (CIP) in 2006, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) has been promoting the use of both organic & inorganic fertilizers, and improved seeds in a bid to increase productivity. The importers of the inputs have been setting up demonstration plots across the country to ensure that farmers learn from them the best practices on the use of agricultural inputs.
The ministry has also been training local agronomists and proximity extension agents in all villages in a bid to enhance agricultural extension services. In addition, the farmers are also supported by the government through a subside scheme so that they can access the inputs at affordable cost.
State Minister Nsengiyumva also visited ENAS factory that is installed with capacity to blend fertilizers of 40 tons per hour.
Speaking to journalists, the state Minister said that the ministry through RAB and local government is currently mobilizing farmers to prepare their land and buy inputs on time so that they don’t miss out planting activities.