With more than 85% of practitioners, agro-pastoralism in Burundi, which was once underestimated, is undergoing, recently, a set of transformations that will profoundly lead to sustainable development so desired by any Burundian loving patriotism, through the reversal of the old mentality to the detriment of new structures of agro-pastoral operations better adapted and scientifically proven.
This policy is also well reflected in the National Development Plan (NDP) adopted in 2018, which aims to restore the structural balance of the Burundian economy by strengthening food self-sufficiency and diversifying exports through the promotion of agro-industrial enterprises. The use of these new agricultural forms based on community development through block cropping and the establishment of value chains from ploughing to harvesting through selected seeds is therefore promising according to the current Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Burundi, the Right Honorable Gelase Daniel Ndabirabe and member of the Council of Elders of the ruling Cndd-Fdd party.
Gone are the extensive agro-pastoral and subsistence practices carried out individually with artisanal techniques on small plots. Administrators, agronomists and agricultural instructors are called upon to raise public awareness of this policy, which will lead to economic independence like never before. It is a matter of strongly imprinting this new community development insight bequeathed by the late President Pierre Nkurunziza, in the mind of every citizen. "The only sacrifice you have to pay to achieve this opulent development that we desire is the change of materialized by self-organization", insisted the President of the National Assembly. The proof is that the agricultural sector has been the foundation of the economic wealth of many of today’s leading countries. We can mention South Korea, the United States of America, Russia and China, according to the Right Honorable Gelase Daniel Ndabirabe.
Thus, in Makamba, Rutana, Cankuzo and Muyinga provinces, he raised awareness and encouraged the population to work in socio-community groups for the practice of modern agriculture. This is the case of "Sangwe" cooperative societies which will allow the strengthening of the participation of citizen more widely at the communal and village level through the Communal Development Plan (PCDC) so that these efforts reduce poverty through agro-pastoralism. "The Sangwe cooperative societies are playing a leading role in Burundian society in the first place and are essential partners of the PCDC and crystallize the whole Burundian people. "You are requested to adhere to them without any exception in order to move together towards prosperity", hammered the Right Honorable Gelase Daniel Ndabirabe in his multiple moralization sessions throughout the parliamentary recess of July 2021.
The Speaker of the National Assembly didn’t leave out the setting up of contour lines to protect arable land from erosion. Having good skills in political economies, he also called on the entire population to adhere to the Burundi NDP 2018-2027 and to mobilize as one man, to demonstrate once again, its strength of work to achieve its economic and social welfare so ambitious.
Considering agriculture and livestock as pillars of the economy means that Burundians must come to their senses and a change of mentality is imperative, since the old practices have only generated economic disgust for agro-pastoralists and the country. The ambition of this policy is, ultimately, to clarify the place of agro-pastoralism as the genesis of economic thinking, that refers to the emergence of a new point of view where the welfare of each Burundian, the management of small-scale processing industries, the allocation of the market and work are at the heart of the political and scientific concerns of the State.
Finally, the Burundian government’s initiative to improve the quality of the agro-pastoral sector at all costs will undoubtedly lead to better results. In addition to having enough to eat, the Burundian people will have the freedom to compete on the international market, which will add value to the country’s economy. Not only will this policy increase the performance of the agricultural sector, it will also highlight the tangibility of the surplus yield throughout the country, in line with the testimonies of nationals who already have their marshal sticks.
