Mechanization to transform agriculture

Last year, the government put more effort in encouraging farmers to adopt the use of machines in their farm activities so as to improve on their productivity. The mechanization program in the agriculture sector saw the government establishing an agricultural mechanisation workshop in Gasabo district. The program that is tied to the promotion of irrigation is being implemented by the Irrigation and Mechanisation Task Force under the Ministry of Agriculture. In an interview, the chairman of the Irrigation and Mechanisation Task Force, Dr. Jean Jacques Mbonigaba Muhinda, tells The Sunday Times that the program is geared at empowering farmers not only through giving them access to mechanization services but also with skills to operate the machines. “We have also started a scheme where farmers either through cooperatives or individually can acquire agriculture equipments especially tractors on loans through their respective banks,” Muhinda says. He explains that those who may not afford buying can also hire or get any agricultural service at the national mechanization workshop. However, he says that it emerged some farmers are not capable of accessing these services from the Kigali based workshop. For this reason, through the same task force, the Agriculture Ministry is currently establishing Village Mechanisation Service Centre’s (VMSC). The centers that are currently operating in Keiehe, Bugesera, Gastibo, Nyagatare and Nyanza will be established countrywide. “These and other centres to be put in place will be equipped with various agriculture equipments including tractors power tillers, disc ploughs, trailers, water pumps and harvesters among others,” Muhinda says. He adds that empowering farmers with skills to operate agricultural machines will enable them take over the centres. “We want farmers to take personal responsibility and own all operations as long as they have the capacity to run these centres,” he emphasises. Some farmers attending the ongoing agriculture expo at Mulidi testify to how mechanization and irrigation has helped them improve their farming activities. The chairman of Karama Farmers’ Cooperative in Kirehe district, Athanase Rwabizankwaya, says that VMSC`s will help them increase production as some individual farmers will also be able to adopt mechanization. “It was hard and almost impossible for some small scale farmers to get access to mechanization services from Kigali because of the cost and where to get the services,” Rwabizankwaya says. He also notes that since training will be conducted at these centres, farmers will get the chance of acquiring practical skills on factors that have been affecting their yields. Another farmer from “Urugaga Imbaraga” farmer`s cooperative, Alice Mahoro, says one of the factors that have improved the performance of the cooperative is the use of machines. “It could not have been possible for us to expand our activities without the use of tractors especially in plaguing,” Mahoro says. She notes that with the establishment of the VMSC`s, the cooperative will increase its operations since mechanization services will be readily available at village level. To simplify access to agriculture equipments in the country, government is in final consultations after holding talks with a South Korean company, to establish a tractor assembling plant in the country. The company Tong Yang Moolsan operates worldwide and is well known for designing, manufacturing and distribution of machinery and agriculture equipment. Muhinda says that the plant will also be utilized by other countries in the region. He explains that: “We are now identifying key stakeholders in the project to see that the initiative boosts agriculture as well as business with neighbouring countries.” Tong Yang Moolsan has also been in charge of supplying agriculture equipments to the national mechanization workshop as well as others to be stationed at the VMSC`s. Ends