KICUKIRO - Residents of Kicukiro District of Kigali will this season set aside a total of 1,000 hectares of land to cultivate one crop under the land consolidation and crop intensification programs.

The season`s launch saw residents of Rusheshe Cell in Masaka Sector begin farming on 70 hectares where they intend to grow maize.

According to the Mayor, Paul Jules Ndamage, the Sector will plant the same crop on 430 more hectares,.

"We are providing fertilisers and equipment to be used in cultivation. When you produce quality maize in large quantities, as a district, we shall make sure you get a good market for your produce,” Ndamage promised local residents.

The Mayor encouraged them to embrace the land consolidation program, saying it would increase their earnings through increased production.

Residents of Gahanga Sector have also managed to set aside 500 hectares of land to separately plant maize and vegetables.

The Deputy Director General at Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) -Agriculture Extension, Innocent Musabyimana, emphasised the need to utilise proper farming methods as well as mechanisation.

"Crops should be planted at the right time and we should also make sure we adopt a culture of spacing our plants besides considering the fertilisers to use,” Musabyimana urged.

One of the residents, Andrew Habimana, commended the efforts made to ensure they mechanise their agriculture.

"Our rudimental methods of cultivation have not only been limiting us in terms of expansion, but also slows our activities and affected our harvests,” Habimana lamented.

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