Fertiliser use between 45-50 per cent

A Ministry of Agriculture official on Friday told MPs that the use of fertilisers now stands at between 45 and 50 per cent with importation of the commodity amounting to 44,000 tonnes annually. This was disclosed as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) again criticised Agriculture Ministry officials over damning findings – loss, mismanagement and wastefulness of fertilisers – as highlighted in a special value for money audit report on the management of agricultural inputs used in the crop intensification programme (CIP) between August 2007 and April 2010. PAC received the report from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), in March.Ernest Ruzindaza, Minagri’s Permanent Secretary, and others stressed that the problems have been satisfactorily addressed emphasising that no fertiliser had gone to waste.During the session, MP Françoise Uwamariya sought to know the statistics on fertiliser use, challenges faced and the progress being made countrywide.Francois Nsengimana, a Minagri official, noted that considering the area under cultivation every planting season, especially with crops like Irish potatoes, rice and maize, fertiliser use ranges from 45 per cent to 50 per cent countrywide. “This is according to what experts say. In some areas, it is high, and in others, it very low and this is why we are in a process of educating farmers so that in places where use is low, things change.”Commenting on the imported fertiliser, Ruzindaza told the legislators that this is usually combined with manure that is locally sourced.“It is also important to note that it is not enough to use fertilisers if weeds and other unwanted grass are not uprooted from farms,” Ruzindaza said, adding that government also considers the issue of sustainability.

National

Fertiliser use between 45-50 per cent