AJE/Bururi: Tons of potatoes harvested

The potato harvest was good

“700 kilos are sold while the remaining 2300 kilos are kept as seed to be sold at the beginning of the next cropping season,” said Lin Nzokira, field officer, in his visit to Bururi from the 27th to the 28th of February, 2023. He had gone to Bururi to see the beneficiaries of AJE II gathered in a “mentorship club.” According to him, the harvest was good despite the late rainy season. Mr. Nzokira estimates that the maize grown by the 15 young people in the mentorship club will yield at least 1.5 tons of maize grain. These young people, like other young people in the project, are supported by AMEBE in their agricultural and livestock activities. Mr. Nzokira also noted that as the corn harvest is approaching, the young beneficiaries are also preparing cultivation for beans which will be harvested during the dry season. “They also raise pigs. Their sow gave birth to 12 offspring and they sold them for 700,000 BIF,” says Mr. Nzokira. This member of the AMEBE staff believes that the AJE project is on the right track. “The results are palpable.”

During the same visit, the field officer visited women beneficiaries of AMEBE from the group “Tugwize umwimbu.” There are 42 women who are also engaged in agriculture and livestock activities. Not only do they cultivate corn and beans, they also save together and lend each other money. On Monday, February 27th, many of the group members gathered together to share money after 6 months of saving. “A sum is then reinvested in income generating activities while another is used for daily consumption: school fees for their children, purchase of clothes, etc,” one beneficiary recounted. These women own a cow, purchased under the supervision of AMEBE, as well as corn and potato fields, from which they are expecting an upcoming harvest of 500 kilos and 1 ton, respectively.

In any case, in Bururi, the beneficiaries welcome the support of AMEBE through its projects.