BUJUMBURA, January 23rd (ABP) – As part of the trade facilitation and integration project in the Great Lakes region (PFCIGL), the Ministry of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism organized on Tuesday, January 21, 2024, in Bujumbura, a workshop to validate the analysis report on the status of agribusiness value chains to be supported within the framework of the PFCIGL.
According to the assistant to the Minister in charge of Trade, Mr. Gérard Niyokindi, who opened the workshop, the goal of the meeting was to collect comments from all stakeholders on the interim report including the status report, diagnosis, operational strategy, constraints and support needs of the six value chains selected to be supported by the PFCIGL. According to him, these are corn flour, cassava flour, pineapple juice, palm oil, onions and processed tomatoes that have been selected.
The beneficiaries of the said facilitation are women and young people who carry out cross-border trade between Burundi and the DRC. The PFCIGL will contribute to achieving the purpose of the vision, which is to make Burundi a prosperous nation, through a sustained increase in the production of goods and services, structural changes leading to increased life expectancy, satisfaction of basic needs and the reduction of inequalities, unemployment and poverty in all its dimensions.
According to Mr. Niyokindi, the PFCIGL is an adequate response to the many challenges already identified in the national strategy for promoting cross-border trade. The project thus supports the implementation of measures aimed at addressing the most restrictive obstacles along the borders between Burundi and the DRC, namely the difficulties encountered when crossing the borders for small traders, requiring reforms of border management procedures.
As challenges, he noted the weakness of infrastructure, the lack of appropriate facilities for the collection, grouping, processing, packaging, labeling and storage of goods to be marketed.
After analysis, the participants validated the document with certain recommendations.