Nyamagabe to benefit from Rwf900m dev’t fund

NYAMAGABE–Residents of Kamegeri and Gasaka sectors in Nyamagabe District are set to benefit from a $1.5m project (about Rwf900m), that will go to a number of projects, among them, silk worm production and fish breeding.Other activities under the project include poultry farming.The project is supported by the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in partnership with the government.It will be implemented by three local cooperatives and all activities will be mainly concentrated in Mwogo valley.Project support is expected to last 19 months, after which residents will have to run it themselves.Fish ponds will cover an area of 4.6 hectares while mulberry cultivation, which is necessary for silkworm farming, will be grown on a 4 hectare stretch.On Wednesday, mulberry cultivation was launched in preparation of silkworm farming, which is set to start in three to four upcoming months. Fish breeding will start in July, according to officials in charge of the project.Nyamagabe District Mayor, Philbert Mugisha, urged residents to own the projects in order to ensure their sustainability.“There will come a time when the support you are receiving today will end. You must thus be ready to take up affairs and keep them running,” he said.According to Sohn KeeWook, a sericulture expert and the project coordinator, the project was “an opportunity for residents to get employment.”“Some people will be direct beneficiaries while others will get jobs from the various works under this project,” he said.He observed that Rwanda is the best place for silk worm farming and mulberry cultivation due to its natural climate conditions and the nature of soils.The same optimism is shared by locals, who noted that they expect to generate more income than they used to from growing other crops.“The design of this project gives me hope that it will help us to uplift our living conditions,” said Alphonsine Dusabimana, a resident of Cyizi Cell, Kamegeri Sector

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Nyamagabe to benefit from Rwf900m dev’t fund