The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) has launched a model fruit orchard in Rubavu District in light of the government's five-year initiative to provide skills in agriculture.

ALSO READ: Ministry mulls Rwf18 billion plan to plant 6m fruit trees, fight malnutrition

The model fruit orchard was unveiled during the official launch of a new programme on Thursday, October 24, on Mount Rubavu, in Rubavu District. The initiative runs through 11 districts with each household encouraged to plant five fruit trees to combat malnutrition.

According to the ministry of agriculture, the establishment of youth-centred model fruit orchards in Rubavu, Huye, Musanze and Nyagatare districts as well as in the City of Kigali will focus on capacity building, infrastructure development (seedling nurseries), and market linkage facilitation to ensure the successful adoption of fruit tree cultivation and consumption of fruits at household level.

Speaking at the launch in Rubavu District on Thursday, the minister of agriculture, Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, emphasised that there is a need to engage youth in agriculture as one of the measures to address the high unemployment rate in Rwanda.

In Rubavu District, 5,400 fruit trees have been planted, with 500 of them planted in the Rubavu model fruit orchard. In all, about 500,000 fruit trees will be planted in the district.

"We should engage youth in every activity as per the value chain. We want to see young people even in this five-year initiative participating. It will be one of the measures to address unemployment, providing them good jobs that will benefit them in line with NST2," the minister said.

Deogratias Nzabonimpa, the vice mayor in charge of economic development in Rubavu, believes that planting enough fruit trees at Mount Rubavu will undoubtedly contribute to national fruit production and help curb the flooding that most often affects Rubavu town.

"This mountain can be a national basket, and it&039;s why locals need improved fruit trees," said Nzabonimpa.

Protais Habanabakize, the Director of Programs at APEFA (Action Pour la Protection de l’environnement et la Promotion des Filières Agricole), one of the key stakeholders collaborating with the ministry as the implementing vehicle of the programme, noted that the fruit trees being distributed within 11 districts are resistant to climate change and have the capacity to produce a lot of fruits.

"Farmers or anyone else who seeks to grow trees professionally will be able to come and learn new skills from this farm school and everything about smart practices of growing fruit trees,” he said.

The ‘Five Fruit Trees Per Household’ programme, costing over Rwf18 billion, will see six million fruit trees, including avocado, mango, papaya, and guava among others, planted.