C. MathieuSoil Science Department
Faculty of Agronomy, University of Burundi
BP 2940, Bujumbura, Burundi
Burundi is a country of hills and mountains. Its soils are generally very acidic and sloping. Vertisols occur only over a very small proportion of the country's land area, mainly on the few flat plains north of Lake Tanganyika.
The majority of the Vertisol areas of Burundi are agriculturally underexploited; only small areas are used for dry farming of cotton and for animal husbandry. However, because the agricultural potential of these soils is very high, especially under gravity irrigation; because Burundi has a growing need for soil resources to meet its food demands; and because the close proximity of the Vertisols areas to the capital city, Bujumbura, offers good marketing possibilities for produce grown on Vertisols, rational and intensive use of these soils is both possible and desirable.
Research on new management practices for Vertisols is urgently required, and the national agency that will be responsible for this programme should also participate in international networks on Vertisol-related problems.
