Rice and mushroom famers in the country have been urged to take advantage of the agriculture technology spearheaded by the China–Rwanda Agriculture Technology Demonstration Centre (C-RATDC) in Huye District to improve their production.

The remarks were made during field extension of paddy rice cultivation techniques to model farmers, organised by the centre at Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB)’s Rubona Station in Huye District, last week.

Cao Zhimin, the political counsellor for the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda, said the Chinese government remains committed to strengthening agricultural cooperation with African countries as an avenue to increase output.

"At the 2006 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China committed to send senior agricultural experts and set up special Agriculture Technology Demonstration Centres in Africa within three years and C-RATDC was set up in that context,” he said.

Since the centre’s establishment in April 2011, it has offered 36 training courses in different disciplines, benefiting 1,271 people, including university students, local technicians and farmers, according to Cao.

JUNCAO technology has spread to all the four upcountry provinces and Kigali city.

Over the years 310 tonnes of mushroom spawns have also been provided to Rwandan farmers, worth $3.5 million.

Cao said rice production from two rice demonstration zones in Rubona (Huye) and Mututu ( Nyanza District) has increased from 4 tonnes per hector to 6 tonnes.

The RAB director general, Dr Louis Butare, said the centre’s agriculture intervention is yielding good results, noting that formerly infertile land at the RAB Rubona station is now more productive.

"The centre is teaching people to embrace modern rice and mushroom growing. There are people who were trained here and they learnt how to make their own mushroom tubes. There are others who come to buy them here and grow them, then sell in cities to earn money,” he said.

"Even university lecturers come to learn agriculture technology here and have engaged in mushroom growing where they are earning very big money.”

Hu Ying Ping, the director of C-RATDC said upland rice has been introduced at Mututu in Nyanza which yields 5.5 tonnes per hector.

Since the official opening of C-RATDC, three years ago, 189 farmers have been trained in paddy rice and upland rice cultivation technology.

Farmers are trained in various fields; the best season to sow, furrow, cultivate, and transplant techniques, downwind planting, fertiliser and chemicals management, water management, weeding and proper harvesting and post-harvest management, among other techniques.

"We used to grow rice with scanty knowledge.  We did not even apply fertilisers. But with Chinese training, there is an improvement. Where we used to harvest 200 kilogrammes, we now harvest about  600 kilogrammes,” said Emeritha Muhimpundu, a rice farmer from Rusatira Sector in Huye District.

Dr Butare said, to realise the benefits of the centre on agriculture sector development, RAB plans to inject more funds into it so as to train more farmers in agriculture technology to boost productivity.