Ngoma: Cooperatives play big role in increasing rice production

Farmers in the 5 cooperatives that grow rice are grateful of JICA project called PICROPP that trained them on doing professional farming on rice and doubling their production. Some of these cooperatives trained are able to harvest 8 or 9 tons of rice per hectare compared to 4 hectares they produced before the training.

In the meeting that brought together different leaders and farmers to access the achievements of PICROPP project, the chairperson of Duhuzimbaraga cooperative said the knowledge given by the Japanese was of paramount importance.

Vedaste Butera said “this project found us growing rice in any way we could but after the training and applying what we were taught, the rice production has doubled up. Apart from increasing our rice production, we were trained about cooperative management and finding market for our produce.”

The sector’s leaders that had attended this function to access the achievements of PICROPP project admit positive changes among the people with the introduction of this project. PICROPP project has increased rice productions and many farmers joined cooperatives promoting their statuses.

The PICROPP project that has been training and promoting rice farmers is a project in JICA that will close its operations by the end of this 2013 year.

According to George Mupenzi the vice mayor for finance and economic development of Ngoma district, the trained leaders including the sectors’ agronomists will replace the Japanese experts to keep training farmers using the notes left behind.

Valence Ntezirembo the advisor in the Japanese project PICROPP says the aim of this project was to build knowledge in members of rice, fruits and vegetables cooperatives and this goal was achieved.

PICROPP project has trained more than 12 000 farmers and worked with 28 cooperatives in Ngoma district ever since it started in 2010 and will close its operations by December 2013.

Source: http://www.umuhinzi.com/2013/07/ngoma-cooperatives-play-big-role-in-increasing-rice-production/

Ngoma: Cooperatives play big role in increasing rice production