11, January 2024
Today, the E&E green farms were excited to experience our second day in the field. We began our day by visiting the first farm, the twanging swamps in eastern Rwanda in the Karangazi Sector. The government dedicated this marshland to seed multiplication, enabling Ranging Rice Growers Cooperative to succeed in the area.
We met with 4 out of 98 members in the cooperative and have a combined land area totaling 165 hectares. Refer to the photo below, ordered from left to right:
Delphine Nyirarukundo: farmer 6/7 years.
Francoise Nyiranizeyimana is an agronomist with three years of experience and a bachelor's in agriculture and irrigation.
Anastase Niyonsaba is a farmer who has been working for around three years.
Eddy Ntambra coordinates farming activities and has five years of experience.
All members shown below have a personal connection to agriculture as they reside near the twanging swamps and are experienced in agriculture.
Out of 165 hectares, E & E Green Farms operates on 5 hectares; being that they are a smaller cooperative, they need help to access a higher percentage of land. However, the relationship between the collective and E&E green farms has been successful as E & E provides reliable and consistent services. Every growing season, E&E Green Farms can provide seeds, pesticides, and training at the start of the growing season. These cooperatives are not obligated to work with E&E Green Farms, but the professionalism displayed keeps them coming back, as there are no delays in their necessary supplies. The Nyagatare area is a low-altitude region; therefore, the seed variety utilized is WH403. Like Emma's farm, we witnessed a similar growing technique. They have three rows of female maize, with 1 row separating each set of female and male maize bordering the perimeter. Last year, they worked with E & E Green Farms for soybean seed production; this year, they are focused on maize production.
Regarding sustainability efforts, the farm utilized the residue from the maize harvest for livestock feed. In many countries, the residue is oftentimes burned; however, the Rwandan government recognizes this is not environmentally responsible, so open burning is not allowed. In addition, some residue is taken to the banana plantations.
After collecting insightful data and profile photos of the 4 Ranging Rice Growers Cooperative members, we traveled to our second farm, Rwinbogo Farm. We were able to interview Winnie Fre Mutoni, a fresh college graduate from the University of Rwanda Majoring in Agricultural Engineering who is passionate about their future in agriculture. In the future, she hopes to have an agriculture business. Winnie wants to specialize in producing fresh beans as they are scarce and can be promising in the right market.
After, we returned to our hotel to translate our data. As we worked diligently, we could share and partake in stories about our lives, which has made us closer to our partner, Rose Muhurwaza
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