The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA), on September 20 in Kigali, held a graduation ceremony for the class of 2024 that comprises 81 graduates – consisting of 44 females and 37 males.

They include 13 who specialised in animal production systems, 26 in crop production systems, 22 in food production systems, and 20 in irrigation and mechanisation systems.

This is the second RICA graduation after the first one that was held in August 2024, which consisted of 75 graduates, as per information from the higher learning institution funded by Howard Buffett – an American businessman and farmer-philanthropist.

Four graduates made it to the 2024 RICA Vice Chancellor’s Honor Roll, which recognises outstanding graduates in academic performance. They are Sandrine Umutesi, Placide Ijwirye, Esther Irasohoza, and Shema Christian Bagiruwigize.

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Speaking to The New Times, they attributed their best performance to dedication, passion, commitment, desire to always learn, and conducive environment including a fully-funded scholarship they got at the institute located in Bugesera District, Eastern Province.

Shema Christian Bagiruwigize

Christian Shema, who specialised in agriculture irrigation and mechanisation, told The New Times that he chose that enterprise as "our agriculture sector in Rwanda still lacks mechanisation [and in irrigation] efforts because now we are still at 10 per cent of our capacity.”

Talking about issues in the agriculture sector, he said that they include that [some] farmers in Rwanda still practise subsistence farming for actually producing for just home consumption; small land for agriculture in the face of a higher population growth in the country.

"So, we need to maximise production on that small plot of land we have,” he said, pointing out that scaled up irrigation and mechanisation have the potential to help farmers achieve higher yields amid climate change, which he described as a major challenge in the sector.

"With climate change, you are no longer able to predict weather, seasons, and other climate things. So, I believe with irrigation and mechanisation we are going to be able to withstand climate change, adapt to it, bring solutions and be able to produce no matter the weather, no matter the season so that we are able to satisfy the markets and also grow our agriculture sector,” he said.

On how to utilise the skills he acquired; he said that by incorporating technology in agriculture so that farmers can be able to maximise yields.

"I can work on a project to bring artificial intelligence in that field. We will be able to automate the process being done in mechanisation, automate tractors, automate irrigation systems so that you can turn them on and off while you are not on field,” he said.

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Sandrine Umutesi

Sandrine Umutesi majored in food processing, an area that is concerned with transforming raw materials into food products for increased shelf life [that can go up to one year or more [of shelf life], and value addition.

Food processing, she said, is going to be a solution for the whole Rwandan community "as we will be able to use the skills that we gained from RICA in solving the issue of high excess harvest that is available.”

Giving an example, she said that when there is a bumper harvest of tomatoes, "we may turn them into tomato paste for increasing their shelf life as we know they are perishable. So, this is going to help us apply the skills we gained,” adding that it can contribute to solving the issue of post-harvest losses.

Asked whether she has already started working on a project, or plan to undertake in the future in line with applying the skills she got, she said it is something still under progress.

"At RICA, we are trained to be innovators in agriculture, so we are trying to develop our own projects and be job providers, not only seekers. So, we are planning on that, maybe in the coming three years, we will be able to establish an industry that works on producing different products,” she said.

Esther Irasohoza

Irasohoza specialised in crop production. She said that most Rwandans are smallholder farmers and their yields are still low.

Her choice to join crop production was based on the situation where most smallholder farmers lack the needed skills and knowledge that can help them to achieve higher yields to improve food security in the country, and their income.

For her, the skills that will help smallholder farmers to increase their yields is "using integrated pest management (IPM) because most of them are grappling with the challenge of how they can control pests and diseases.”

Identifying different types of soil and what is lacking in it [nutrient deficiency], and knowing what you can produce with that soil, will help the smallholder farmer to plant crops matching the soil which will increase yields, she added.

Though she envisages setting up a business to support smallholder farmers, she said she first wants to provide her support through collaborating with the already established enterprises that work with them, pointing out that starting a new business requires high capital.

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Placide Ijwirye

A graduate in animal production, Ijwirye said his motivation to specialise in the enterprise was the need to contribute to the provision of proteins to Rwandans for improved nutrition by using small land amid the growing population and food needs.

Also, he said that animal production presents business opportunities to tap for development.

"With small capital, you can start [a business] with livestock such as pigs and chicken. They are skills that are immediately applicable to start your business,” he said, pointing out that it requires a relatively small plot compared to chilli, tomato or bell pepper farming which can require some two hectares for one to be in the business.

He pointed out that chicks – that farmers raise in poultry – are expensive in Rwanda and their availability and supply is marred by inconsistency.

He said that he wants to contribute to chick production through establishing a hatchery such that a chicks can be easily available and people who want to raise them get them at a low cost.

Availability of many hatcheries can ensure availability of chicks and subsequently protein to Rwandans in a relatively affordable manner, as well support creation of jobs, he observed.

He said that experiential learning they got included addressing the competition between humans and animals for staple foods such as maize and soybeans, which result in higher feed costs.

To that end, he said alternative ingredients to soybeans include plants like protein-rich mucuna that can be grown on relatively small area and help in making animal feed.

Also, he said that growing hydroponic fodder – through vertical farming on a framework of shelves with plastic (or metal) trays – can help stock breeders to get feed for their livestock efficiently, estimating that a kilo of maize can provide five kilos of fodder (feed).