Bururi : farmers in distress facing a shortage of fertilizers in the middle of the farming season B

While the farming season B is in full swing, farmers in the province of Bururi (southern Burundi) are facing a shortage of fertilizers that threatens their harvests. Between opaque distribution and low rainfall, the situation is becoming critical.
INFO SOS Médias Burundi
Farmers in the districts of Matana, Songa, Mugamba and Rutovu, in the province of Bururi, are facing a critical shortage of chemical fertilizers, including FOMI Bagara, FOMI Imbura and urea. These are agricultural inputs produced by the company FOMI (Organo-mineral Fertilizers). This situation occurs in the middle of growing season B, a crucial period for crops, and is causing great concern among farmers.
An opaque and inefficient distribution
Many farmers denounce a slow distribution marked by a lack of transparency. « The little fertilizer available is allocated as a priority to the distributors’ relatives or to farmers able to pay bribes, » says one farmer.
Some say they were forced to pay extra cost to recover fertilizers that had already been paid for in advance. « We have a receipt for 5,000 francs, but without a bribe, it is impossible to get our share, » they lament.
A combination of difficulties : fertilizer shortages and low rainfall
In addition to this lack of inputs, the province of Bururi is facing a worrying rainfall deficit this season – a situation that could increase agricultural losses.
« As if the lack of fertilizers were not enough, we are facing an unprecedented drought while we were expecting heavy rainfall, » says a resident of Mugamba.
The lack of water and fertilizers threatens to cause a drastic drop in yields, threatening the region’s food security.
Call from the authorities to FOMI
Given the seriousness of the situation, provincial authorities are calling on the FOMI company, responsible for distributing fertilizers, and urging it to speed up the supply to avoid major agricultural losses.
Farmers, for their part, are calling for firm government intervention to guarantee fair access to fertilizers and save what can still be saved before the end of growing season B.
This crisis is not a first : during the farming season A, Bururi farmers had already encountered similar difficulties in obtaining FOMI fertilizers, forcing some to fall back on organic manure, for lacking anything better.
Since 2023, the FOMI company has explained the situation by a lack of foreign currency to be able to import the raw material. Threats of Burundian authorities who fail to provide it with any, have remained in vain.
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A man takes out bags of chemical fertilizers from a warehouse in Bubanza in western Burundi (SOS Médias Burundi)