Burundi's Second Vice President Mr. Gabriel Ntisezerana has said the country should diversify agricultural and livestock production and control water use in order to transform from subsistence to market agriculture.
Other conditions that must be made conducive are regional integration and the development of communication infrastructure, he said.
According to the government, the agricultural sector accounts for 90% of employment in the country and 51% of GDP. But the majority of people practive subsistence farming, with only 15% of the total of farmers' produce accessing the market.
Coffee and tea are the country's major foreign exchange earners.
The 13 -year civil war in the country seriously affected agriculture. To date, officials say, the sector gets less than 2% support of the national budget. But participants at the forum vowed to ensure that agriculture gets what it deserves in the next financial year.
The forum was funded by the World Bank and was attended by participants from the public and private sector as well as donors and COMESA representatives.
East African Business Week
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July 25, 2007
Burundi to boost agriculture
Categories Burundi
