Bugesera district embarks on mass irrigation

BUGESERA district has prioritised irrigation to enhance food security.According to the district’s five-year plan, which was unveiled on Monday, an inclusive Private-Public Partnerships and smallholder linkages aimed at increasing on-farm productivity and value addition in selected value chains will be developed.While unveiling the plan, Bugesera Mayor Louis Rwagaju said modernising agriculture remains a salient district policy.“We shall focus on transforming agriculture from a low-productivity subsistence-based sector to one characterised by high-productivity,” he said. “A new hillside irrigation system of up to 2,500 hectares and 1,000 hectares of new marshland in Musizi and Rurambi will be a priority.”Rwagaju said the district would also install irrigation equipment and infrastructure to promote agriculture productivity.Henry Kakoza, the coordinator of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) in Eastern Province, said the five-year plan would contribute to the planning and implementation of the EDPRS II.“Putting emphasis on irrigation, particularly the hillside, takes us a step forward in maximum utilisation of agricultural land. These highlands have been useless for quite a long time,” he said.Kakooza said all districts are developing and managing suitable programmes to transform and modernise agriculture to ensure food security in the country.

National

Bugesera district embarks on mass irrigation