Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry Minister Dr Ephraim Kabayija has briefed parliament on his ministry’s food security policy after being summoned to do so by the national assembly, Rwanda News Agency (RNA) reported on Thursday. Kabayija said the policy had been reformulated with the intention of boosting food and cash-crop production through methods including water and soil conservation, swamp reclamation and environmental production, in line with a cabinet decision in October 1999. It was also intended to increase production of easily stored crops (rice, maize, wheat and sorghum), and special programmes for crops like cassava, beans and Irish potatoes that do well in some parts of the country, he said. The ministry would continue to use artificial insemination and introduce high-breed animals in an effort to boost milk and meat yields as part of an overall trend towards the intensification, specialisation and commercialisation of agriculture, Kabayija added. The minister is expected to return to parliament to answer additional questions on the implementation and impact of these policies on the Rwandan population, over 90 percent of which is dependent on agriculture, the report added.
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