CABI attends presidential round table to highlight help for Burundi’s smallholder farmers to increase food security
CABI has taken part in a presidential round table event and highlighted its support for Burundi’s smallholder farmers to increase their livelihoods and food security.
Dr Dennis Rangi, Director General, Development, and Dr Janny Vos, Partnerships Development Director, attended the event held in Bujumbura to share the Burundian Government’s vision for the socio-economic development of the country.
The round table, which included the President of Burundi His Excellency Évariste Ndayishimiye, served as mobilization of financing for the implementation of Burundi’s vision to become an emerging country in 2040 and a developed country in 2060.
Vision is to make Burundi ‘a prosperous nation’
The aim of the vision is to make Burundi ‘a prosperous nation through sustained increase in the production of goods and services, and structural changes leading to improved life expectancy, the satisfaction of basic needs, as well as the reduction of inequalities, unemployment and poverty in all its dimensions.’
At the event, attended by over 1,000 participants including 24 panellists, Dr Rangi highlighted how CABI – since the 1980s – has enjoyed high-level strategic and on the ground collaboration with the Ministry for Environment, Agriculture and Livestock.
He said CABI’s work with Burundi, who became a valued member country in 2001, has included the Good Seed Initiative, the management of maize lethal necrosis in East and Central Africa, and the Australia-Africa Plant Biosecurity Partnership.
Agriculture can supply sufficient, safe, and nutritious food
Dr Rangi said, “Our vision is to realise a world – and that includes Burundi – where agriculture can supply sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, embedded in a healthy and climate resilient landscape, with clean water and air, healthy soils, and a functional ecosystem.
“One of the ways in which we are helping Burundi achieve this currently is through the global CABI-led PlantwisePlus programme in close collaboration with national partners, such as ISABU, DPV, DGMAVAE and BECFTP, among others.
“Through PlantwisePlus plant clinics, farmers are able to bring their crop samples to plant doctors who then diagnose their plant health issues before offering advice on more sustainable and safer-to-use biological control products where possible.”
Agriculture is a cornerstone of Burundi’s economy
Agriculture is a cornerstone of Burundi’s economy, employing four in five people. The sector primarily revolves around subsistence farming, with family farming providing 95 percent of the food supply.
The main crops grown include coffee, tea, maize and beans. But limited access to modern farming techniques, crop pests and diseases, fluctuating commodity prices and climate change affect productivity and livelihoods.
Around 41% of the Burundian population is food insecure. There is not enough healthy food, and this undermines the economy, the health system as well as the education system. Better nourished farmers produce more food, better nourished people have better health whilst undernourished children underperform in school.
Challenge to crop production in Burundi includes pests and diseases
A Plantwise baseline survey in 2021, combined with subsequent monitoring, found that the most important challenge to crop production in Burundi includes pests and diseases (74%) and the prohibitive cost of inputs (67%).
Dr Vos added that, in partnership, within a few years Plantwise has reached over half a million smallholder farmers through a combination of plant clinics, plant health rallies and mass extension campaigns.
Dr Vos said, “Impact studies and evaluations across the globe have shown that this demand-led extension approach contributes to improved plant health knowledge and management, increased yields and smallholder incomes as well as improved resilience. A long-term view is now needed for the national plant health system to equitably serve most smallholder farmers nationwide.”
Access to timely and accurate agricultural advisory services
She stressed that part of this long-term view is to improve access to timely and accurate agricultural advisory services, including better access for women, as well as improving phytosanitary services through more effective prevention and management of regulated pests.
Dr Vos added, “Arising from a Plantwise assessment of laboratory facilities, there is an urgent need for the country to invest in and build capacity for phytosanitary services including diagnostic support.
“To improve diagnostic capacity, the country should invest in technology required for the identification of quarantine pests and chemical contaminants, which are essential prerequisites to grow regional and international trade of agricultural commodities.”
Sustainable crop production practices
Dr Rangi and Dr Vos further highlighted how PlantwisePlus in Burundi aims to empower smallholder farmers to produce more food using sustainable crop production practices, and with a vision to reach 75% of these farmers across the country by 2030.
By then, at least half a million farmers will experience increased yields nationwide and it is foreseen that a 20% increase in exports from improved phytosanitary measures will be realized.
Promote lower-risk pest management practices
Dr Vos said, “We will focus on integrating plant clinic network operations within the national plant health system, linking these with other advisory approaches, and mainstreaming gender-inclusive methods to enhance women’s access to plant health services.
“The project will promote lower-risk pest management practices so that farmers can grow safe food, reduce their reliance on chemical pesticides, and develop capacity to identify, test, and scale cost-effective biological control solutions for priority pests.
“We gratefully acknowledge the Netherlands embassy in Burundi for their financial support to make this work possible.”
Burundi’s vision to become an emerging country in 2040 and a developed country in 2060 came about after the government organized a National Development Forum in 2021.
The forum brought together, among others, representatives of the public administration, the private sector, universities, local bilateral and multilateral partners, the diaspora and civil society organizations.
Additional information
Main image: Photo from left: Dr Célestin Niyongere, National Coordinator from ISABU, Dr Janny Vos and Dr Dennis Rangi.
Video
See Dr Vos talking at 1:31:02 in the video below.
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