RUTANA, October 18th (ABP) – Burundi joined the rest of the world on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, in celebrating World Food Day under the theme: “The right to food for a better life and future: Leave no one behind”. The ceremonies took place in the commune of Bukemba in the province of Rutana.
In his speech, Pissang Tchangaï Dadémanao, representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Burundi, pointed out that some 800,000 people in the world are facing hunger, due in particular to conflicts, repeated climatic shocks and economic slowdown. He pointed out that that situation hits the poor and vulnerable hardest, including many households.
To tackle hunger, Dadémanao believes it is essential to “activate all the levers of solidarity and collective action” to build a sustainable world. A world where everyone has regular access to nutritious food in sufficient quantity and quality, empowering the most vulnerable, especially small-scale producers, and investing in more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems.
Diomède Ndayirukiye, Permanent Secretary in charge of Agriculture and Livestock at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, explained that the vision of Burundi as an emerging country in 2040 and a developed country in 2060 contains 22 objectives, the third of which is to promote income-generating agriculture and ensure sufficient food supply to achieve the goal of eradicating hunger. Ndayirukiye pointed out that the Government of Burundi has prioritized a number of objectives. Those include: subsidies for chemical fertilizers and selected seed varieties to boost soil fertility and increase agricultural production.
He also referred to raising farmers’ awareness of traditional seed multiplication, protection of cultivable soil, field irrigation techniques, conservation of their agricultural production in communal granaries, and capacity-building in conservation techniques.
Finally, he invited Burundi’s farming population to take on board the government’s objectives of eradicating hunger in the country, protecting rivers, lakes and sources of drinking water, and respecting the buffer zone along riverbanks.
He also advised them to consume their agricultural production and not to sell all their crops in order to have access to good food. The ceremony concluded with the presentation of awards to five cooperatives working in the agricultural and livestock sectors, many of which have excelled in the year 2024.