American philanthropist Howard Graham Buffett has urged farmers in Nasho Sector, Kirehe District to diversify the crops they grow in order for them to optimally benefit from the massive irrigation project in the area, which his foundation funds.

He tipped the farmers on Saturday during his tour of the site to see the progress on the construction of the irrigation infrastructure.

"You used to have almost one harvest per year because of water scarcity. With this project you will be able to have up to three. It is better to diversify crops so that you can cope with prices at the market,” he said, urging them to be on the lookout to avoid pests and diseases for their crops.

"For instance, you can have about 50 hectares of maize on one pivot and 50 hectares of beans on the next pivot, which you can rotate after a certain period to maintain fertility of your soil,” he tipped the farmers.

The project is expected to feed 1,200 hectares with water in Cyambwe Valley.

Buffett is fully funding the project to the tune of $22 million (about Rwf16 billion) in irrigation infrastructure, including roads, drainage system, water tanks and irrigation machines, while the government will spend Rwf1 billion in expropriation.

Tony Nsanganira, the State Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, said the project is expected to bring economic transformation to people in an area that has always suffered from bouts of prolonged drought.

"The project is of great importance for Rwandans in general, but especially for the about 2000 farmers who will be operating there, we hope that they will be able to boost their produce, which I hope will help them to develop economically,” he said.

Fulgence Nyirimanzi, the president of Nasho Irrigation Cooperative (NAICO), whose members will benefit from the project, said they are ready to do their best to maximise their harvest due to the irrigation infrastructure.

The Nasho II Irrigation Project will use water from Cyambwe Lake.

He said, "We know the value of this infrastructure to us. We have already organised ourselves in clusters so that we can better sustain these infrastructures. We plan to grow maize, beans, soybeans and vegetables.”

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