GITEGA, March 7th (ABP) – At a time when the B crop season is in full swing, most farmers in the commune of Gitega are complaining that they have not yet received all the “Imbura” fertiliser already ordered. Some have already received one or two bags, while others have received nothing at all.
As usual, at each sowing season, agricultural inputs, particularly the ‘Imbura’ fertiliser produced by the Fomi factory (Organo-mineral fertilisants), are made available and distributed in all areas of the communes of Gitega province.
Some of the farmers are beginning to lose hope as the month of March has begun and they have not yet started sowing. The authorities, for their part, keep reassuring them that they will get the fertiliser and that the distribution will be effective.
Every day from Monday to Friday, farmers can be seen waiting for fertiliser to be distributed at the fertiliser stores in their respective areas.
Jeannine Nduwayezu, from the Mubuga zone, who met at the Rutegama stockpile in the Gitega rural zone, says that she has been to the stockpile three times but has come back empty-handed.
“Delays in distribution are a recurring problem. We can’t always sow at the ideal time. I can see that the harvest for that season is likely to be poor for me. My family could go hungry if I don’t get that fertiliser in the first week of March”, she said.
On the other hand, another farmer we met was satisfied after receiving the fertilizer, because he said he would soon be sowing like the others, and hoped that that would enable him to improve his bean production, because according to him, the quality of the FOMI fertilizer is better. When used properly, he says, harvests are better, once the weather conditions are right.
Farmers in areas far from the town of Gitega, particularly the Mubuga zone, complain that the distribution of agricultural inputs is uneven. They suspect that that is due to a lack of fuel, as well as the impassability of the road serving the main town in that area during the rainy season.
“I’ve noticed that remote areas of Gitega often have more difficulty accessing fertiliser. In the week from 16 to 22 February 2025, the Mubuga area, which includes 8 hills, received only 400 bags of Imbura fertiliser”, said a resident of Mirirwe village in that zone. That resident prefers to buy his fertiliser in Rutegama. He called for the Mubuga-Gitega Road to be made passable, which would reduce the cost of transport.
Note that those complaints are even being heard from farmers who have placed their orders with the NGO Tubura, which supports farmers. Those farmers, particularly those in the Mubuga zone, say that they have received only one bag from that organisation.