This Thursday, July 18, 2019, a capacity building workshop on normative and hygiene requirements related to fishery products was led by the Investment Promotion Agency (API) in favor of actors in the fishing sector in order to stimulate its export development.

The opening ceremonies of this meeting were enhanced by Mr. NDUWIMANA Jean Marie, Principal Adviser who represented the Governor of Rumonge Province and Mr. Léonard SENTORE, Director of API.

In his speech, Mr. NDUWIMANA welcomed the participants and organizers of the workshop, stressing the crucial importance of such brainstorming sessions on the development of fisheries, a key sector for the economic activity of the entire coastline of Lake Tanganyika and of Rumonge province in particular.

For his part, the Director of API recalled the context and objectives of the workshop, and emphasized the challenges and constraints that justified the organization of this framework for exchange and capacity building for stakeholders.

Indeed, the fishing sector is facing challenges related, among other things, to non-compliance with normative requirements, and to nutritional regulations, which constitute a major handicap to its development. He also underlined that the API is ready to support projects in this sector and invited participants to develop well-studied projects so that they can benefit from the advantages of the Investment Code.

After the opening speeches, the participants followed a presentation by the Business Supervision Manager at BBN,

Ir Désiré RUDARAGI, under the theme of: “Quality control on the production chain: case of a fish production unit”, and that of Mr. Ir Jean Marie MANIRAMBONA from the Directorate for the Promotion of Fishery Industries at the ministry responsible for fisheries in its responsibilities, entitled “compliance with standards and regulations for the restoration of sustainable fishing in Burundi”. His teaching focused on the popularization of Law No. 1/17/ of 30 November 2016 on the organization of fishing and aquaculture in Burundi while inviting all fishing actors to work in synergy to ensure the sustainable exploitation of the Lake.