Rwandan Rice Area Developed, Farmers Commit to High Yields
Some 1,571 farming households from sectors of Bugesera and Ngoma districts surrounding the developed Gashora Marshland have pledged to produce at least eight tonnes of rice per hectare from the land allocated to them in the swamp.
Each household was allocated a-quarter of a hectare and beneficiaries were drawn from five sectors; Mayange, Juru, Ririma, and Gashora in Bugesera District while in Ngoma District it is Rukumberi Sector.
The average rice yield per hectare is 5.6 tonnes, according to information from the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI).
Speaking to The New Times, the president of KODUMUGA, Laurent Hakizamungu a cooperative grouping of rice farmers in the Gashora Marshland, said the farmers will start growing rice from January 20. Rice is harvested twice a year.
Aftab Uzzaman