Day 3: Women-Led Agribusinesses Transforming Agriculture in Rwanda

 

The only bumpy part of our research trip to Rwanda was the road to the Rwamagana district. The hospitality of the people, the serenity of the Mugesera Lake, and the cute baby goats roaming around rejuvenated the team after a long day of travel. However, the most significant takeaway was Rose Muhumuze and Emma Uwera’s amazing work as the female founders of E&E Green Farms and I & J Harvest. Their collaboration has created farms that are well-managed and highly organized despite stretching beyond the horizon. An hour and a half’s walking only led us to see less than 20% of the 52 hectares. Rose and Emma’s partnership is a prime example of how women-led agribusinesses are making a positive impact on Rwanda's society and economy.

A network of women is readily transforming agriculture in Rwanda by laying the foundations for innovative business and agricultural practices. Rose founded E & E Green Farms to develop the seed multiplication industry in the country with immense potential to benefit Rwandans. The company rents farms with cooperatives for agriculture to produce the seeds and sells them to distributors once they are certified. E & E Green Farms plays a critical role beyond seed production including providing training and support to cooperatives to effectively engage in seed production and multiplication. At the same time, E & E Green Farms also partners with other women leaders in the agricultural sector creating an effective network and fostering collaboration.

Some innovative features of the farms include the strategic location next to Lake Mugesera. The farms were irrigated through a rain-fed system with canals that supplied water to all areas of the farm while carrying excess water into the lake. To prevent animals from stumbling onto the maize crops and consuming the maize, the maize plants were surrounded by sweet potato crops. The sweet potato crops acted as a barrier distracting animals and leading them to consume the sweet potato instead of the maize crops. The farms also had a person walking rounds to prevent animals and people from consuming the maize.

The most remarkable feature was the stark difference between the seeds planted by E & E Green Farms and I & J Harvest compared to traditional maize crops. With two rows of male and six rows of female crops, the E & E plants were much larger than their counterparts and generated a larger yield. The E & E and I & J seeds were the WH507 variety adapted to mid-altitudes and the rainfall conditions of the Rwamagana district. Therefore, from irrigation to location and seeds to management, the fields were effectively organized.

Finally, we also had the opportunity to interview Emma to understand her business, goals, and her daily activities. Presently, she was waiting for the maize crops to grow, having planted them earlier. Emma also conducts research as an Agronomist on seeds in her field to enhance production, yield, and sustainability. One of the challenges that she faced was the uncertainty and unpredictability of the seeds produced in each cycle which limited her ability to sell in the market and negotiate contracts as the yield can vary due to many factors beyond her control. Finally, her main aspiration for the future is to build an in-house research team that can work with her to improve yield and sustainability. However, the challenge is that research is funding and resource intensive.

 

Day 4: Ranging Rice Growers Cooperative & Successful Stories

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

Day 6: The Farmer's Service Center

The weather is unpredictable in Rwanda. Last night, it rained heavily; the storm was so loud that it woke up everyone. But you can barely tell there was a heavy rain last night because the ground is dry, and everything looks normal. It’s like magic.

Rose and us had breakfast together; it was omelets and boiled eggs again, but not bad. After the breakfast, we went to the Farm Service Center. USAID funds it, and every product is 70% lower than the market price for the farmers. The center has three parts: Veterinary Pharmacy and Livestock Inputs; Pesticides, Fertilizers, Seeds, Agriculture Equipment; and Animal Feeds. The products are nicely displayed. E & E do not buy seeds from the center, though; they produce seeds to sell after the seeds are certified. For most seeds, they are from Rwanda’s seed companies. E & E want to sell their seeds sometime at the center, and they are working toward the goal.

The Farm Service Center

The Center of Pesticides, Fertilizers, Seeds, Agriculture Equipment

Interestingly, new varieties, such as red cabbage, are in the center, but farmers seldom know about it. Later, we visited Rose’s office; it was lovely. Rose will stay in the office during the busy harvesting seasons.

After finishing the primary data collection tasks, we are working to clean the data, create content, and build websites.

Day 3: Promoting Good Strategies To Encourage A Healthy Private-Public Partnership

 The SMART E&E Green Farms Team began the day by meeting with Quintin Dussart, the Economic and communications manager of the French embassy in Rwanda. Dussart explains the nuances of development and how it is handled by ministries. As a French diplomat, his job is to promote links between Rwanda and France. It is important to note that France in Rwanda is a development partner, not the developer. Currently, 40 French companies are operating in Rwanda compared to bout 3 French companies operating post-genocide. 

This is significant as it shows that the French are becoming increasingly interested in various sectors in Rwanda. In 2021 the French publically announced their hand in enabling the genocide to occur, for this reason, the relationship between France and Rwanda is being rebuilt. The 3 sectors that France intervenes with are promoting the French language, green economy, and health. Dussart made it clear that Frances's focus is not primarily on the agriculture sector so he was not as helpful in answering many of our agriculture-specific questions. There is international interest in the Rwandan agriculture sectors that unless there is a lucrative business interest for France they believe the risk of doing business in East Africa, a region they are unfamiliar with as compared to West Africa, is not worth it. Also, they do not have the capacity as the French embassy only has 6 people on the ground. In light of this, everything is politically related to their policy.  

In this meeting, we were also joined by Fred Rubagenga who works for the Belgium Trade Commissioning Office. The Belgium government when it comes to the agriculture sector wants to industrialize the pork and chicken industry. The French and Belgians are also collaborating to develop the bamboo industry by utilizing Bamboo construction materials. Fred called on support from Robin Theirs, First Secretary at the Belgian Embassy in Kigali, to answer our questions regarding agriculture. It is unclear how effective the incorporation of Thiers and Rubagenga was but it was very insightful for the team to see the communication between our private-public partners. Our partners from E&E Green Farms, ROBEEC LTD., and RAB were present in this meeting as well and were able to ask questions. Rose Muhumaza gave a very insightful and informative presentation explaining her operations at E & E Greens Farms and the impact it has on the livelihood on smallholder female farmers and youth. This directly connected and aligns with the missions of the USAID as they try to revitalize the agriculture sector. 

Currently, youth are not drawn to the agriculture sector even though it employs 70 percent of the population. The reasoning for this is that compared to other pathways agriculture does not directly translate into profits which discourages youth from joining the sector. Youth and women lack access to land, lack of technology use, and lack of knowledge about where they can work. Our second set of meetings was with representatives from the USAID office specifically working in the Economic Growth Office and a Food security specialist was present. Their main goal is to increase animal source consumption. Nutritious food, access to the market, and societal behavioral misconceptions about food. They have a five-year strategy to do so. A part of this strategy is to lead from the business sector to introduce contract farming therefore guaranteeing what is being produced will be sold and emphasizing the use of kitchen gardens. Students were able to ask questions related to the agriculture sector which was helpful in better helping us understand the importance of the work we are doing. The students were able to have a last whole Rwandan SMART TEAM dinner after exploring the craft markets. 

Rwanda Day 1

 Welcome to Kigali, Rwanda!

First SMART fellows arrived in Rwanda on January 6, 2024.

SMART fellows are beginning to arrive in Kigali, Rwanda, to begin their week-long fieldwork all across the country. With a packed itinerary, each project will spend the week traveling to various locations to meet with their community partners and prominent stakeholders (such as the Ministry of Agriculture). Many days will be spent collecting data in the field as teams seek to address their respective SMART Challenge. 

Visit each team's project page to learn about their community partner, SMART Challenge, and meet this year's fellows!

Stay tuned for daily team updates, photos, and more.