Members of Parliament in the Lower House on October 24 commenced nationwide field visits to assess the progress of the 2025A agricultural season, according to a statement from Parliament. The season started in September this year and runs through February 2025. It is the first citizen outreach tour the MPs in the newly elected fifth legislature have undertaken since they took the oath of office on August 14. ALSO READ: Kagame tells new MPs to prioritize people’s issues as fifth Chamber of Deputies swears in The Chamber of Deputies’ field visits commenced on October 24 and will conclude on October 26. They are meant to assess the implementation of the government programme in the agriculture sector in all provinces and the City of Kigali. Overall, the current farming season has been characterised by inadequate rainfall, which has pushed the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) to tell farmers to grow crops such as sweet potatoes that are drought-tolerant crops, instead of susceptible crops such as maize. ALSO READ: Farmers shift to short-cycle crops amidst minimal rains Members of Parliament will also join the citizens in the community work (Umuganda) of October. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Gertrude Kazarwa, said, Members of the fifth term of the Chamber of Deputies will engage with the communities to assess their areas of concern in order for them to be addressed by relevant institutions. The MPs will visit selected agricultural and livestock projects in some sectors in all provinces and the City of Kigali. Additionally, local leaders will update the lawmakers on the progress made in addressing the citizens' queries identified [by the fourth legislature or the proceeding ones] in the previous field visits. ALSO READ: Govt earmarks over Rwf54bn for fertilisers, seeds Activities to be covered under the tour Agriculture activities to be visited include those carried out by cooperatives or farmers who practice land consolidation, or do farming on marshlands. Others are erosion control measures in line with preparing for the new agriculture season and issues regarding agricultural inputs (seeds and fertilisers) selling points. Lawmakers will also gather information on how agricultural or farm inputs subsidised by the government reach farmers, among others. The legislators will visit places for making compost (organic fertiliser), looking to understand the challenges regarding its production. They will visit nurseries for agro-forestry tree seedlings, coffee seedlings, among others, and assess how they are supplied to farmers, among others.
