SOUTHERN PROVINCE

MUHANGA —  The governor of the Southern Province has asked all local leaders in Muhanga district to urgently set up exemplary hills commonly referred to as ‘Agasozi Ndatwa’.

Fidèle Ndayisaba made the appeal while meeting all sector leaders last week, at Muhanga Cultural Centre. The meeting was aimed at analyzing the working module of the exemplary hills and design methods of implementation.

Ndayisaba said, that each sector should identify one hill in each village on which modern agriculture and livestock farming can be carried out on consolidated terraced areas.

The terracing is intended to control soil erosion. On each identified hill at least 100 hectares is expected to act as cultivatable land.

Authorities have set October this year as the deadline for beginning the activities, and each Cell has been asked to establish committees in charge of the programme and come up with a master plan.

The government has also set 2009 as the deadline for ending soil erosion in villages, the governor said. Ndayisaba said, "Fighting soil erosion in Muhanga is vital because most of the land is degraded and this has led to low land productivity compared to the increasing population, which solely depends on limited land produce.”

He urged the district to urgently combat the use of polythene bags. On poor sanitation, he asked leaders to ensure improved hygiene in order to eliminate diseases related to poor sanitation.

At the meeting, sector officials called for cooperation among residents in order to fully implement the exemplary hills project.

"We need cooperation of residents because they have been trained on implementation of the terraced hills. Good results are expected with combined efforts especially in reducing soil erosion,” said Josiane Mukamana, the executive secretary of Cyeza Sector.

Ends