This year’s Kigali National Agricultural show is set to highlight among other things the performance strides the agricultural sector has taken.
The annual show slated to take place from 6-12 June, 2011 at Mulindi Agricultural Show ground in Gasabo, Kigali will bring together farmers and traders countrywide.
Speaking to journalists Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Agnes Kalibata noted that the show would also showcase the current innovations the government has invested in recently.
“We have recently been investing heavily in irrigation and mechanization, said Kalibata, adding; “What we plan to do in this agricultural show is to exhibit some of these innovations.”
“The amount of work that would usually take a whole day could be done in two hours. This is why it is vital for those involved in agricultural practices to be equipped with machinery because it allows them to be more productive while at the same time allowing them to invest their time in other productive activities that go beyond agriculture.”
The permanent secretary in the ministry Ernest Ruzindaza reiterated that government is targeting to promote the use of new machinery by offering subsidies to the agriculturalists and making these easily available.
“Machinery that will be used include various tractors and (combine) harvesters and they will be imported tax free” he said, adding that; “we are trying to make these more affordable and accessible to agricultural practitioners that’s why they will be able to purchase them at a lower cost of 25 percent through corporations such as the rural investment facility”.
The minister observed that the drive towards agricultural modernisation was not only allowing and promoting investment opportunities but “also creating awareness between practitioners of the availability of new and advanced methods of farming and encouraging their use.”
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