An NGO, Women for Women International (WWI), intends to train 3,000 women in organic agriculture by 2010, Bella Kabarungi, its Country Director, has said.

She said this during a ceremony to award certificates to 10 women who graduated in intensive integrated sustainable organic agriculture at Gako Organic Farming Centre in Kabuga.

"I congratulate you all. We expect you to train at least 1,000 women per year, giving them those skills you have attained today,” Kabarungi said in her congratulatory speech.

The women are the pioneers of WWI new project for organic farming known as Commercial Integrated Farming Initiative (CIFI).

Kabarungi added that WWI had started a pilot project of modern farming in Kayonza, and that it would be carried out on 40 hectares of land with a land lease of 45 years given to them by Kayonza District authorities. The community surrounding this project will benefit from the training in organic farming.

Present at the ceremony was William Ntidendereza, the Mayor of Kicukiro District. He emphasized the importance of human resource in Rwanda’s development and called upon the trained women to explore the skills attained at the Centre.

Since 1997, Women for Women has trained 1,700 women in various vocational skills in Kayonza alone, and 21,000 more countrywide.

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