Sowing the Seeds of Success: Why Access to Agricultural Inputs is Crucial
The 2025A growing season is fast approaching. In every state, agricultural breeders are preparing for sowing. The ministry responsible for agriculture recommends that municipal officials support them from the preparations to the harvest. However, the insufficiency of agricultural inputs remains a major problem for farmers.
Directors of provincial offices responsible for agriculture and livestock report insufficiency of seed corn and potatoes in provincial stocks.
In order to ensure that sowing runs smoothly and as a result ensure good production for the 2025A growing season, municipal officials are asked to support agricultural breeders in preparation activities. They must ensure that urban agronomists regularly check the availability of agricultural inputs in their respective communities as well as check the condition of corn grain stocks to avoid rotting, we learned from a preparatory meeting held in Gitega on September 10, 2024, under the leadership of Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca.
During this meeting, the factory for the production and distribution of organo-mineral fertilizers (FOMI) throughout the country confirmed that it has enough stock of organo-mineral fertilizers for this season. However, Hélmenegilde Manyange, the representative of this company, said that the shortage of fuel could disrupt the distribution of these agricultural inputs. As a reminder, some farmers did not receive chemical fertilizers or dolomite during the 2024 C growing season, even though they had paid for these products. Officials say lack of fuel is responsible for the delay in fertilizer delivery.
In order to reverse the trend and guarantee the smooth running of this growing season, recommendations were issued by the head of government, Gervais Ndirakobuca. He encouraged those involved to solve the problem of farmers who paid for fertilizer and dolomite but were not served. “Provincial services must list all farmers who have previous vouchers in their possession and transfer the corresponding lists to the ministry responsible for agriculture for regulation.” Regideso and the new fuel distribution company (SOPEBU) are invited to help fertilizer and dolomite suppliers get the fuel needed to transport these inputs. In addition, FOMI, the only company that has a monopoly on the production and distribution of fertilizers and dolomite in our country, must ensure that the quality of these fertilizers is maintained to guarantee adequate production.
Not enough selected seeds
When presenting the list of seeds and fertilizers, the directors of the provincial offices in charge of agriculture and livestock mentioned the insufficiency of corn and potato seeds in the provincial stocks. This is a problem common to almost all the states of Burundi. ISABU production cannot cover all needs. To make up for this shortfall, this organization is called upon to distribute the seeds available to seed multipliers for a good start to the A growing season and to meet farmers’ needs for seeds during the 2025B growing season. It is also essential to activate the laboratories for the production of vitro plants and provide the necessary quantities for the production of the strains at the greenhouse level. On the other hand, the cost of selected seeds provided by ISABU and other private operators is unbearable for some Burundian farmers.
Blended Fertilizer, newborn in chemical fertilizer production
Although the lack of seeds worries public opinion, it seems that the lack of organo-mineral fertilizers is finding a solution with the installation of a new chemical fertilizer production plant called Blend Fertilizer, in Gitega province, which will have a production capacity of more than 480 tonnes per day. The construction activities of this factory are developing rapidly. For years, FOMI was the only factory with a monopoly on the production and distribution of chemical fertilizers in Burundi. In some cases, it has been ruined because of the questionable quality of its fertilizers and because of the delay in their distribution.
The problem of insufficient seed is not new. To remedy this, last year the ministry in charge of agriculture implemented a framework that is conducive to the emergence of a professional private sector to support the government’s efforts to produce seeds. In addition, the 2023-2024 finance law provided a budget of 9 billion FBu for a project to support the development of the seed industry in Burundi and a national seed subsidy program worth more than a billion FBu. However, the impact of all these initiatives remains difficult to assess.