THE Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Denis Polisi, has called on Rwandans to take personal responsibility and protect land against practices that lead to soil degradation.

Addressing residents of Nyandungu, Kicukiro District, the lawmaker urged those present to pass on the message of the importance of taking care of land, saying this would also help the next generation.

"Do not keep this message, but tell everyone to protect our land,” Polisi said. "It is not only about losing the fertile soil, but it also leads to poor agricultural production”.

Speaking to The New Times, the Director General of the Rwanda Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Norbert Sendege, revealed that the country loses about 40,000 metric tonnes of land annually as a result of soil erosion and other poor farming methods.

"We have, however, fought hard to see that we reduce it through using the trench system, reforestation and radical terracing,” Sendege said.

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