Farmers urged to adopt new methods

The ministry of Environment and Land has urged Rwandan farmers to adopt new methods of farming as a way of beating the unpredictable climate changes to ensure food security. Briefing journalists on the outcomes of the just concluded international conference on climate change that was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Minister of Environment and Land, Stanislas Kamanzi cautioned farmers against the practice of depending on the weather patterns. “We are still depending on rain-fed agriculture but now we can’t depend on it because the weather is unpredictable. We need to consider irrigation on extended periods of time to ensure food security,” he said. He said that the adjustment is vital because over 80 percent of Rwandans depend on agriculture yet the climatic conditions are increasingly becoming undependable. The Minister also urged Rwandans to explore other sectors instead of being solely tied to agriculture. He said that Rwanda had officially endorsed the outcomes of the Climate Change meeting and described it as a step forward. “We endorse the outcomes and Rwanda will sign the protocol. Our wish would have been a major improvement to the Kyoto protocol but with this accord we are getting everyone aboard,” he said. Kamanzi said that the meeting had agreed to encourage extensive cutbacks on emissions in both developed and developing countries. He said that Rwanda is already undertaking projects that will get it to benefit from some components of the new deal since its environmental policies were in line with the adaptation requirements. “There is a component we will be benefiting from because of the numerous forests we have. Rwanda has the National Adaptation Program (NAP) but lacked funding and these components should cater for that,” he said. Ends