Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, braved a rainy morning as they toured Rwanda Institute of Conservation Agriculture (RICA) in Bugesera District, on April 5.
The state-of-the-art university located between two lakes, Kirimbi and Gaharwa sits on an area of 1,300 hectares with a number of buildings and fields used to offer hands-on skills to students in modern agriculture and research.
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Established in 2019 by the American philanthropist Howard G. Buffet in collaboration with the Rwandan government, it now hosts 3 cohorts of 84 students each with the first one to graduate in August 2023.
In a three-year program, RICA students earn a Bachelor of Science in Conservation Agriculture, with specialization in Animal Production or Crop Production, Mechanization and Food Processing.
In addition to that, they are also taught about business, management, entrepreneurship and communication.
Both presidents and their delegation toured around different facilities at the university including the laboratory and a Post-Harvest Handling Facility, as well shown how drone technology is used in driving modern farming at the school.
Richard Ferguson, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Extension and Research, RICA, explained to the two heads-of-states that agriculture is critical in Rwanda but productivity is not at its best level.
"We encourage farmers to adopt practices that will both increase production, protect the environment, and make more money. And they (Presidents) believed that it’s a good approach,” he said.
Assoumpta Umwalujeneza, a year three student at RICA specializing in Food Processing, told The New Times that due to the knowledge from different international and regional teachers with agricultural expertise coupled with practical experiences, they are confident to bring innovations in the sector.
"The future of agriculture is in the hands of the youth because we are learning the how and why of modern agriculture which is different from traditional farming which yielded no increase in productivity,” she noted.
Agriculture employs the majority of Rwanda’s working population, formally or informally, yet it has struggled over different seasons in 2022 due to climate change that brought about longer dry spells and heavy rainfalls, thus derailing the expected production.
Ildephonse Musafili, Minister of Agriculture, noted that they believe the current approach of scaling up modern irrigation methods across the country in addition to fertilizer subsidies provided by the government and improved seeds varieties will revamp the agriculture productivity.
He added that the country is expectant of the graduates from this school who will bring more modern farming innovations in the sector, food processing, and other expertise along the value chain in line with protecting the environment.
After visiting the school, President Ruto tweeted sustainable agricultural mechanisation using the latest technology can transform Kenya’s food systems and value chains.
"To achieve this, it is vital to share knowledge between institutions and stakeholders. Our intensified collaboration with development partners and the private sector will further this agenda, enhance food security and improve millions of livelihoods,” he added.
The visit to this school comes after the signing of nine agreements between both countries in sectors of education, agriculture, Gender, ICT, health, youth, correctional services, diplomatic training, and cooperative development.
It is the second university in Rwanda that Ruto visited after Carnegie Mellon University Rwanda, which is going to collaborate with the University of Nairobi.
Ruto concluded his two-day state visit which entailed several activities including a tête-à-tête meeting with his counterpart, addressing a joint press briefing, visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, and a briefing from Irembo operations in Rwanda, among others.