Rwanda’s fertilizer use has more than doubled in past seven years – PM

Rwanda’s prime minister, Edouard Ngirente, said on Tuesday that the country’s fertilizer use per hectare has more than doubled under the government’s seven-year National Strategy for Transformation, local media reported.

Ngirente said that in order to promote national food security, his government, under the programme, has been increasing farm subsidies – especially since the onset of the pandemic and the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

As a result, he noted, fertilizer use now stands at 70kg per hectare per year, up from 32kg in 2017. Ngirente pointed out that this is significantly higher than the average in sub-Saharan Africa of 25kg per year.

He said, however, that Rwanda’s fertilizer consumption needs to increase further – and that the recently inaugurated blending plant in Bugesera District, which has an annual output capacity of 100,000 tonnes, will have an important role to play in driving the country’s agricultural development.

Ngirente also said that Rwanda no longer imports maize, wheat, and soybean seeds, and has delivered on its 2018 commitment to become self-reliant in this regard.