Mélance Maniragaba, deputy editor.
It’s been a long time that administrators take the pen to take decisions prohibiting the harvest of foodstuffs to exceed, either the borders of a municipality, or the borders of a province. The most recent case is that of the province of Mwaro, in the center of the country where on May 30, 2023, the governor took a written decision in the local language that anyone who wants to bring the production out of the province must have an authorization from the said authority. .
This is so at a time when protocols are constantly being signed to facilitate the free movement of people, capital, goods and services as provided for in the African continental and regional integration agenda.
Moreover, today we manage to encourage thousands of citizens to cross not only the borders of their municipalities or provinces, but also those of the country to seek employment elsewhere in other countries. This will help generate foreign currency for the country. The same scenario does not spare the agricultural sector considered as a growth sector and whose vision would be to produce for consumption and export. The latter also comes into play with a view to generating currencies.
The pen for writing decisions is naturally light for the person who uses it or who carries it in his shirt pocket. But, it becomes a burden when it is used to write decisions that run counter to regional integration protocols or projects that can boost a country’s economy.
Furthermore, questions arise. Are municipalities or provinces that take decisions in favor of protectionism self-sufficient? Aren’t they ready to receive food products from elsewhere, especially since these differ according to the regions? On the other hand, is protectionism appropriate?
Rather than closing in on yourself, it is better to worry about increasing production until you have a surplus
To achieve this, it would be better to closely follow the agronomists and agricultural monitors to ensure that they are fulfilling their mission properly. Thus, in turn, they will coach farmers in good agricultural practices.
We must not also put aside the awareness on the establishment of composts whose manure is useful in the fertilization of the soil or on the use of selected seeds… In this way, we will avoid worrying our nerves by wanting to manage parsimoniously the little we have, but rather taking it easy by exporting the surplus generated at exorbitant prices.
