EDITORIAL: New drive to promote irrigation timely

Over 72 per cent of the Rwandan population depends on farming to earn a living. However, the agriculture sector is largely subsistence in nature with few farmers employing modern farming methods, like mechanisation and irrigation. Farming in Rwanda also heavily relies on climatic weather conditions, which affect productivity of the agriculture industry. Therefore, the new initiative by the agriculture ministry to mobilise Rwandans to embrace mini-irrigation equipment is timely. The government has previously funded development of big irrigation projects, especially in drought prone areas of the country, and encouraged farmers to use mini-irrigation equipment that are sold at subsidised prices. What has changed now is the boldness and scale with which the initiative is being promoted. As the Agriculture minister Dr Geraldine Mukeshimana said at the launch of the new drive, you cannot rely on rain-fed agriculture and expect to benefit much from farming activities. This is especially because some parts of the country experience long drought spells, making it impossible for farmers to practice profitable, sustainable or commercial agriculture. This compromises efforts geared at ensuring that the country is food secure. So, the countrywide drive to promote usage of small irrigation equipment is commendable and, hopefully, will go a long way in helping change people’s perception about ‘smart farming’. The initiative also fits in well with efforts to promote agriculture as a business. It is also our hope that the government budget estimates for the 2016/17 financial year, that will be presented to Parliament today, will provide more funding to programmes that support agriculture to help make the sector more productive. The Rwf1,949.4 billion budget proposal will hopefully provide more incentives that can encourage the private sector to provide small irrigation equipment at highly subsidised prices. About 600,000 hectares of land need to be irrigated to improve crop production. However, only 30,000 hectares of land are under irrigation. Therefore, concerted efforts are needed from all stakeholders to help realize this goal.

Opinions

EDITORIAL: New drive to promote irrigation timely