Burundi’s NGOs use rapid multiplication of banana with macro-propagation technology

Local farmers’ organizations in several Burundian provinces are now using a macro-propagation technology to multiply banana seeds, one of the organizations leader based in the province of Muyinga told Xinhua.Alain Bruce Rukundo, head of the FLORESTA Burundi NGO based in Muyinga but which also has branches in five provinces including Bubanza and Bujumbura Rural (west),Bururi, Makamba and Rutana (south), said that the NGO supports rural communities via their farming groupings.According to Rukundo, FLORESTA’s intervention vis-à-vis banana is done through programs that fall into three interrelated levels. Those levels include the distribution of quality planting banana seeds which are healthier and more productive, the multiplication of the seeds thanks to the macro-propagation technique and participation to various programs related to the sector.Those programs notably include, the FLORESTA official said, training local people for the eradication and prevention of bacterial wilt.He indicated that such a program is underway in the southern provinces of Makamba and Rutana. “For three years, at least 26,500 households have access to quality banana seeds through our various programs in the different areas of intervention and four field demonstrations have been set up in Bubanza, Bujumbura Rural, Makamba and Bururi,” said Rukundo.Rukundo said, “The improved banana seeds are more productive to the extent that a banana regime can weigh between 40kg and 80kg at harvest period.”