EASTERN PROVINCE
 
Launching a ‘Green Revolution’ in Nyamirama sector, the Minister of Gender and Family called upon women to "work hard” and to "get out” of poverty, a problem she said still affecting much of the country.

Valeria Nyirahabineza said all this at the launch of the ‘Green Revolution’ project, where the sector and district are cultivating maize.

The minister urged women to become the first ones in fighting poverty and requested them to work harder in Umuganda community work. One thing women "should not” do, though, was producing too many children.

"It’s good to produce but it’s good to produce those that you can afford to look after and give the basic necessities to,” the minister said. "You should not produce many children who will become street kids.”

Alongside maize, other crops that were passed to be planted in Kayonza district include banana, coffee and rice. For maize, the district is supposed to harvest 8,000 tonnes each season. Only in Nyamirama sector, maize was cultivated on 50-hectare terraces.

Eastern Province executive secretary Charles Gasana called upon people to make co-operative societies in order to be given machines to help them in both digging and cultivating. On Thursday the district was given tractors which will help in the Green Revolution exercise.

According to performance contract statistics, Eastern Province is at 71 per cent in good governance, 70 per cent in justice; 51 per cent in social welfare; and 50 per cent in economic development.

"If we can finish Justice before the end of this month, we can add more efforts in communal work so as to fight poverty,” Gasana said.

The government’s target is to complete Gacaca cases and Travaux d’Interets Generales (TIG) in the whole country before the end of October.
 
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