4,500 farmers benefit from Catholic Relief Services' USAID-funded project

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) this week successfully concluded the USAID-funded 'Farmer to Farmer Project,' empowering 4,500 farmers and enhancing over 70,000 hectares of agricultural land in Rwanda. Implemented from 2018 to 2023, this project focused on enhancing horticulture and maize value chains by tackling issues like low production, post-harvest losses, weak farmer cooperatives, and food insecurity. Facilitating a unique partnership between volunteers from the United States and local agriculture-related organizations, the project offered technical expertise to boost production, ensure food security, and promote sustainable economic growth. Germain Ndayisaba, president of the Cooperative of Maize and Beans Farmers of Rubira-GANZA (KOAIRU-GANZA) in Gatsibo District, shared his excitement about the project's impact. He revealed that, thanks to the interventions, maize production skyrocketed from 1.5 tonnes per hectare to an impressive four tonnes per hectare. Women's representation in the cooperative's leadership also increased substantially from 30% to an impressive 70%. In addition to elevating maize production, the project opened new avenues for the cooperative, as they ventured into French bean cultivation and successfully exported produce to France. Another success story comes from Xavera Nyiraneza, a founding member of the KOAIRU GANZA farming cooperative. After receiving management and leadership training through the Farmer-to-Farmer program, she emerged as the president of a newly-formed women's group and now leads three women's savings groups. She even utilizes a portion of her land as a demonstration plot to teach improved farming methods to neighboring communities. Kazimoto Ntabanganyimana Cansilde, the Chairperson of Rwanda Horticulture Inter-Professional Organization (RHIO), highlighted how the Farmer to Farmer project equipped their organization with valuable management skills. The training focused on increasing horticulture farmers' productivity using organic fertilizers and implementing cost-effective techniques like solar-powered facilities to conserve vegetables and fruits, reducing post-harvest losses. Over the course of five years, the Farmer to Farmer project has significantly impacted Rwanda's agricultural landscape, supporting 24 cooperatives, 12 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, eight Non-governmental Organizations, and one public institution through expert support from US volunteers. The project addressed various challenges such as poor cooperative governance, strategic planning, post-harvest losses, and marketing constraints, leading to increased incomes and improved technical and financial performance for the supported entities. During this period, 4,500 farmers directly benefited from the project's 101 volunteer assignments, encompassing over 70,000 hectares of land. They increased sales by 35% from $3.6 million to $4.8 million with an income change of 46% from $506,000 to $737,000 thus marking a milestone in Rwanda's journey toward agricultural transformation. As the project comes to a close, Hans Fly, CRS Country Representative, expressed pride in the achievements and emphasized the commitment to continue supporting Rwandan farmers. Despite challenges such as Covid-19 restrictions, climate change effects, and seed quality concerns in horticulture, the project successfully empowered farmers and cooperated with the government of Rwanda to align with their strategic plans. Olivier Kamana, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and animal resources, praised the project's contribution to the agriculture sector's growth and commended the support provided to cooperatives and SMEs in increasing productivity and value addition. With a focus on sustainability and scalability, Rwanda looks forward to building on the success of the Farmer to Farmer project, adopting value addition and innovation, seeking better markets through collaboration, and supporting farmers with improved facilities, finance, and funding to further bolster the agriculture sector

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4,500 farmers benefit from Catholic Relief Services' USAID-funded project