By: Jeanne d’Arc Munezero
Farmers in the Eastern Province of Kayonza, have been urged to channel the knowledge acquired into useful economic benefits and invest in income generating activities.
Addressing on Friday, June 16 over 255 farmer field school (FFS) master trainers and facilitators from Murundi, Murama and Remera II sectors, who graduated after undergoing an intensive training, Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources Dr. Ildephonse Musafiri urged the farmers to turn the benefits from selling their fruits into fighting poverty and malnutrition in their households.
The training was conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and was supported by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) through the Kayonza irrigation and integrated watershed management project (KIIWP).
It was aimed at equipping fruit farmers with knowledge and practices for organizing FFS activities. This can allow them to train and assist parallel FFS facilitators who are facilitating their respective groups.
“The certificate you are awarded today is of added value. This justifies the knowledge you have in fruit growing and do not take it for granted,” Musafiri said.
The farmers were given irrigation facilities and other interventions, which the minister said would help them take this kind of farming to the next level.
Musafiri recommended farmers to continue investing in conserving fruits and increasing production for domestic consumption and to invest in other income-generating activities.
Rusibana Francois Julienne who represents the Nyakanazi zone located in Nyakanazi, a cell in the Murama sector, said that the training he received left him well-educated and prepared for future production.
“I learned how to root a tree, so that the trees can produce fruits. I did that on my farm land, and now after four years they are giving me yields,” Rusibana added.
Mukaryanabo Djamila said that after receiving the training, they have begun to apply what they were taught to the farms.
In the future, we believe that we will get positive results in the future. We also urge the government to find us. A challenge we face is finding markets for our fruits,” Mukaryanabo said.
The Minister appealed to farmers to properly handle fallen trees and put them together. He also told them that the government is looking for an investor who will buy their fruits including avocados, mangoes so that they can be processed into fruit juice and other by-products.
It can also be processed into fruit juice and other by-products.
