Since the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the Government of Burundi, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, has initiated a process of monitoring the achievements of development partners. The objective is to realize the impact of the partnership to the burundian people. It is within this framework that the Director General in charge of Multilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Ambassador Rémy BARAMPAMA and the Country Representative of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Mr. Emmanuel NJUKWE, jointly organized a field trip.
Carried out in two phases from March 07 to 10 and from March 28 to 31, 2021, this descent covered seven provinces of the country. These include the following provinces: Rumonge, Makamba, Rutana, Bururi, for the first phase and Gitega, Mwaro and Bujumbura-Mairie for the second phase.
In fact, IITA has been with Burundi since 1994. It contributes in the agricultural sector. It introduced new crop germplasms including cassava, bananas and maize. Its key partner is the Institute of Agronomic Sciences of Burundi (ISABU).
Thanks to this multifaceted support in this sector, Burundi is able to cope with plant diseases and pests, in particular the crops mentioned. IITA imports the parental lines of the crops and deposits them in the ISABU genebanks for their growth.
At the harvest stage, a mixed commission, (male / female growers and technicians for supervision), select a better variety according to well-defined criteria, in particular resistance to diseases, parasites, vegetative cycle and production.
A large collection center for banana varieties with a workforce of 278 varieties from different corners of the world, including 55 local ones.IITA introduced banana plantains from Ghana.
In search of profitable and disease resistant varieties of cassava. Currently, thanks to this research, it has been possible ti introduce new varieties resistant to cassava disease(especially Mosaic).
