The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources has launched a countrywide mobilisation drive to scale up small-scale irrigation in a bid to cope with climate change effects on crops.

The campaign was launched during a special Umuganda event in Gatsibo, Ngoma and Nyagatare districts of Eastern Province yesterday.

Dr Geraldine Mukeshimana, the minister for agriculture, said it was no longer acceptable for Rwandans to rely only on rain-fed agriculture whereas irrigation is possible for their lands.

"It’s unacceptable to see any Rwandan facing shortage of food while rivers cross their farmlands. Farmers need to change mindsets so that they can embrace small scale irrigation practices since the government support farmers with up to 50 per cent subsides to acquire small scale irrigation equipment,” the minister said.

These equipment include complete sprinkler, drip and rain-gun kits with portable diesel or petrol pump-units and pipes as well as rain-water harvesting tanks, treadle pump and dam sheet technologies.

‘Surest way to meet targets’

Tony Nsanganira, the state minister for agriculture, said embracing small scale irrigation is the surest way for farmers to achieve targeted produce despite drought.

"Dry spell is damaging crops, which cannot allow people to get the produce they were expecting if nothing is done. So, it is necessary for everyone to water their plantations so that they can harvest the targeted produce,” he said.

Alex Nzeyimana, the president of Imbarutso cooperative that grows beans, maize and soybeans around Mugesera Lake in Ngoma District, said they knew the importance of irrigation but that access to irrigation equipment was a big challenge for them.

"We acknowledge the importance of irrigation for our region that experience prolonged dry season but the problem we always face is inaccessibility to irrigation equipment. We wish the Government could help us to get easily the irrigation equipment,” Nzeyimana said.

Studies by the Ministry of Agriculture have shown that there are 600,000 hectares of land that need to be irrigated to be more productive while currently irrigation is applied on more than 30,000 hectares of land.

In the Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA-III) strategy as reflected in the national Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy framework, the government has planned to develop 100,000 hectare commercial irrigated area in order to accelerate agriculture growth.

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