In the course of last week, Kigali hosted two high-level agriculture meetings, both themed around science and research and their role in developing the sector.

The seventh Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) General Assembly convened in Kigali more than 3,000 delegates from across the continent and beyond. During the FARA General Assembly, it was emphasised that research was the way to go to ensure not only food security but also commercialise agriculture.

The New Times’ Collins Mwai spoke to the Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr Gerardine Mukeshimana, for clarity on the role of research in developing the sector, among other issues.

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To what extent is science and research incorporated in Rwanda’s agriculture sector?

Sometimes science doesn’t get the recognition it deserves in respect to its role in agriculture. Science has contributed greatly to the development of the sector. Most of the development and growth you see is a result of science. It has taken research to develop some of the technologies in use.

Most of the crops being grown in the country at the moment, including rice, potatoes, beans and cassava, are products of national research efforts. There are also technologies that have emerged such as soil testing as a result of research.

Research doesn’t solve much if it doesn’t lead into impacts and influence change in practices. Here, it has much impact and aspects of research have been incorporated into agriculture.

It is often said that the nature of small scale agriculture practices makes it hard for the mainstreaming of science and technology into the sector. Is this still the case?

It is true that some of the ventures are at a small scale and require to be scaled up. This is partly due to challenges in extension, getting research to be widely accepted by the community. It is not a challenge solely of Rwanda, it is experienced all across Africa.

There is an issue of scientists not being well connected to society. This partly comes from the colonial mindsets. I like saying that we import so much, including science. Science is considered a leisure thing that came with foreigners.

We need to change this and make science for people. We need to change the mindset and use science for the benefit of our output. I made the same remarks at the FARA meeting calling on Africans to stop importing everything and carry out research that impacts positively on our community.

I also put it very strongly, at Rwanda Agricultural Board, from now on, you get promoted, not based on publications but because you can show impacts that you have made beyond publications. There are people who have put out several publications but have not had as much impact on the community.

Another issue that has seen less research adoption is the poor linkage to the private sector. Public research institutions have a limitation to how much they can do, the staff are few, the funds are limited, the facilities are also few.

Having the private sector take on from what little is being done by the public sector can lead to further research utilisation. It is critical that we understand that public financing and public initiative alone cannot get us far.

As a community, we all have to be involved in advancing research and that includes the private sector. The private sector needs to understand that, by working closely with research, they can increase their productivity and output.

At the forum, it was pointed out that food security challenges faced by the continent are largely due to failing to adopt new practices and low input of science. How much of a challenge is this really?

Of course, research is critical for food security. Even here in Rwanda, I hear people say that using inputs is bad. I was surprised during the recent World Economic Forum on Africa, when someone stood up to explain that fertilisers are bad.

That shows how our extension services and systems have not been doing a good job to change the mindset of the people. It is not only asking them to use certain inputs, it involves explaining to them the reasons for certain inputs and how to use them.

The weak link between science and community is a large contributor to what we see. It is not only at the basic production research level. Even at higher levels of the value chains such as storage capacities.

We are barely producing one metric tonne of maize while elsewhere they are producing over nine metric tonnes.

This is largely due to lack of research capacities and linking it to the community. In all levels of the value chain, science is applicable.

Linking the whole value chain to science and research will change the status quo. It is time that we stopped seeing agriculture as a charity and view it as business. The colonial mindset have also largely led to this charity viewpoint.

At the moment, the agriculture sector continues to have very few investors interested in it, have you identified the reasons behind for this?

It is because, in Africa, agriculture was left to the less educated and less fortunate people. We are now trying to recruit young educated people into the sector and encourage them to consider opportunities in the sector. We are trying to make them see agriculture beyond the hoe.

There are lots of opportunities that can have an impact on the value chain, consequently improving livelihoods. We need to shift the view of agriculture and ensure that people see the opportunities therein.

Speaking of the youth, why are they not interested in the sector despite the opportunities therein?

Young graduates complete school and want to work in urban areas; that is the expectations for most of the young people. They are attracted to the urban areas because of the amenities such as electricity. As a country, we have ambitious plans under the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS II) and Vision 2020 that include rural transformation. In this, we are looking at how we can make the rural areas attractive for settlement. This will, among others, attract young people into agriculture.

As we get roads, electricity and other amenities all across the country, we will see young people interested in settling all across the country, including rural areas.

We also need to increasingly raise awareness among young people on what they can do and the available opportunities. If an increasing number of youth takes up agriculture, it is not only going to create interest in others but also see a lot of innovation and supporting sectors emerge. We need to increasingly showcase opportunities in the area.

How can we change the mindset you have cited as well as showcase the opportunities in the sector?

We need to have constant communication over time to be able to change mindset and influence change. People need to interact more with research through communication. It is important that as the scientific community, we interact more with the community and became more accessible.

Distancing ourselves shows that as the science community we do not have goals. Interacting with them closely will enable them pick up our latest practices.

The issue of value addition has been on the table for years, why do we still see very few investments in the aspect if it is as viable as it is said?

For value addition, we have to go beyond the line of thought that we can export raw coffee or use up all the milk produced. We need to invest in developing the private sector. In this country, we do not have a private sector that is keen on agriculture.

We need to nurture it and develop it. Most times, we expect to attract a lot of foreign investors in all sectors. It is okay if we can do it but it is wiser to attract them as we develop our own. This will be one way to reduce poverty and simulate growth.

Another reason for the low levels of value addition in agriculture is mindset of the people involved in agriculture.

Most of them are always ‘firefighting’ and lack long term strategies and plans. That is quite a challenge among a section of farmers.

But as the structure of farmers change, we are going to see also a lot of change and lots of value addition in the sector.

If you look at the issue of food importation, it is not because we do not produce enough; it’s because of lack of value addition and low processing capacity. We produce tomatoes in excess and end up importing tomato sauce. We could achieve much just by changing our mindset.

What are some of the opportunities for investors seeking to enter the sector?

Most of the opportunities are in value addition. They include the canning industry that has not been fully exploited just like the freezing industry. People all across of the world consume frozen food. Unlike popular perception that frozen foods are for the rich, they are normal as they have not lost their freshness.

The transportation and logistics also holds a lot of opportunities and is yet to be tapped. There are millions of opportunities in value addition. If I were younger, I wouldn’t look for a job, I see so much potential in value addition, more than anywhere else.

Are they profitable?

It is a viable opportunity but has to be closely linked with the consumers behavior. The Rwandan population is largely a young population. Imagine the opportunity in tasks such as pre-cooking packing beans, there would be a large opportunity given the characteristics of the Rwandan population.

They young generation requires different products compared to the generation of their parents.

Does the sector have a pool of skills to drive it as per the ambitions and plans?

That is not a question of agriculture alone. It is a question to the entire country. As we are orienting our country to be a service led economy, we really need to make huge investments in building capacities.

The status quo could be because there was previously no demand in the sector. As a ministry, we have partnered with the Workforce Development Authority to produce skills as per the demand. With that, we produce the profile of skills required.

What is Rwanda’s position on genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?

At the moment, Rwanda is busy making regulations about the bio-safety of GMOs. That is an initial step that every country has to go through. We previously did not have regulations on the bio-safety and use of GMOs.

As a scientist, what’s your position on the debate on whether or not to allow GMOs in Africa and Rwanda in particular?

As a bio-molecular scientist, I have no problem with GMOs. We have been eating it for ages. Canola oil has been in the country and region before most of us were born. If there is a transgenic crop in America and Canada, it is canola.

Uganda is doing trials on potatoes, bananas and most of the ‘matoke’ we eat here comes from Uganda. Kenya is going to do one season trial and then release water stress tolerant variety of maize.

There is a free movement of seeds that we harmonised in the entire COMESA region whereby if a seed is released in one country, it can be released in all countries.

The question is not if we are going to adopt it or not, my issue is can we get ready as fast as we can to deal it with. Can we build the capacity to understand it and deal with it rather than being scared of it.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw