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$1.5 million soil map project to improve fertiliser use

Thursday January 16 2020
farm

The country uses fertilisers that cost an estimated Rwf40 billion per annum. PHOTO | FILE

By BEN MUNEZA

The Government has embarked on a $1.5 million project to update its soil map for improved agricultural productivity through efficient application of farm inputs and protection of the environment.

The project, a joint initiative between the government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will be implemented through the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

Charles Bucagu, deputy director-general at RAB said the soil information system will address the fertiliser and lime recommendation rates in agro-ecological zones.

Scientists at the Ministry of Agriculture say upon completion, around early 2023, the project will significantly reduce wastage in the application of fertilisers since farmers will apply compositions that correspond with soil patterns.

Currently, the country is dependent on a 1989 pedology map, which means recent land consolidation, agro-ecological zoning and increased use of fertilisers were based on outdated data.

An updated and accurate pedology map is vital to farming as it specifies soil formation, structure and different nutrients at a given time.

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While such data is important to every country or region, it is vital to a hilly and densely populated country such as Rwanda.

In 1989, the population of Rwanda was 7.2 million; half the current population estimated at 12.3 million. Sector authorities say crops depend on soils from the layer up to twenty centimetres deep for healthy growth. In Rwanda, such soils have been fundamentally tampered with due to over tilling and soil erosion.

“If you are applying the required organic or inorganic fertilisers you are definitely not being wasteful. Overall, you are cutting on cost, protecting the environment and increasing productivity,” said Charles Murekezi, director-general of Agriculture Development at the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Updated soil data can serve as a basis to formulate site and crop specific recommendations.

That means matching fertiliser application rates with specific nutrient requirements of various locations and crops cultivated in the country.

The country uses fertilisers that cost an estimated Rwf40 billion per annum.

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