Farmers should work closely with both private and public institutions to ensure that more information is shared to cope with climate change effects so that it does not affect their produce.

The call was made on Monday by the State Minister for Agriculture, Tony Nsanganira, during a ceremony to reward outstanding farmers in Rubavu District.

More than 400 farmers from the district were awarded with various rewards ranging from cows to farming equipment.

The minister said, while the agriculture sector had registered progress over the past years, there is need to understand the current climate change and share information.

"Recent information from the meteorological agency revealed there has been climate change since the beginning of season A 2016 and this would affect the produce if information is not well shared to follow up and act accordingly,” Nsangirana said

"We want information to be shared from he national to the village level, there is no cost for that and we request various institutions to do the best to share information for farmers to plan ahead. Season A started late and this means the next season will be short, all that requires information sharing to avoid poor yields,” he added.

The minister said, while the yields in agriculture and livestock have been on increase lately, there was need for farmers and all stakeholders to work hard to ensure that the issue of climate change and other challenges do not affect production, adding that the current produce would double if more efforts were put in.

Competition relevance

Minister Nsangirana said organising the competition to select outstanding farmers was a step forward toward boosting production as it encourages them to work hard and that such competitions should be emulated across the country.

"The competition means a lot as it is a way to show the importance of farming; that farming plays a role as it leads to self-reliance and national development,” he said.

"We are proud of the increase of crops, including cash crops such as coffee and vegetables which have increased and are among the major national exports.”

The produce of Irish potatoes in Rubavu District increased from 27 tonnes per hectare to 32 tonnes, maize from 3.2 tonnes to 5.2 tonnes, while beans rose to 3 tonnes from 1.7 tonnes, according to Jeremie Sinamenye, the Rubavu mayor.

Joseph Muvunyi, who emerged the best farmer in the district and received a hybrid cow as a result, attributed his success to following advice from local leaders and the use of fertilisers.

"I am happy to emerge the best farmer, I have worked hard to improve my farming, not to target the award but to change my family’s living conditions. This is immensely encouraging” said Muvunyi.

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