Government will soon establish a new agriculture institute to train personnel that will modernise the sector and make it more productive. The Rwanda Agriculture Practical Training School will be located in Karama, Bugesera District. It is expected to boost skills and professionalism in the sector. Dr Geraldine Mukeshimana, the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, said the college will focus on practical training to improve research and extension services, noting that these are key to ensure sustainable agriculture development and wealth-creation. She added that when fully established, the institute will ease the skills gap in the sector, and help deliver the country’s agriculture targets through modernisation and innovation. Already consultations are ongoing among key stakeholders, including government, Ministry of Education, the University of Rwanda, the National Capacity Building secretariat, and experts from the Howard G. Buffet Foundation, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Nebraska in the US, as well as the EARTH University in Costa Rica. Tony Nsanganira, the State Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, said the institute is designed to assist Rwanda achieve the 8.5 per cent annual agricultural sector growth, and provide requisite personnel for agro-mechanisation and processing projects, among others. “To achieve these targets, the institute does not need to be limited to a physical site, especially in its early years when it will be conducting non-formal agricultural extension education and field-based training,” he said. The agriculture sector employs over 80 per cent of the population. The sector contributed 31 per cent to the national GDP in the first five months of the year. business@newtimes.co.rw
