Senators visiting Rubavu District for national outreach activities have praised the presence of gender equality within agricultural and livestock farming cooperatives during their two-day visit. From January 9, 2024, the Senate of Rwanda is conducting a national outreach that will continue until January 19. During this time, lawmakers will be monitoring the government's efforts to promote agricultural and livestock farming cooperatives throughout the country. Senator Espérance Nyirasafari, Vice-President in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, and Marie-Rose Mureshyankwano visited Coaba, a fish farming cooperative from Nyamyumba Sector near Lake Kivu, and KOZAMUIKA, a potato farming cooperative in Kanama sector, on Thursday, January 11. ALSO READ: MPs caution over high birth rate in Rubavu The lawmakers appreciated the focus on national development and livelihoods within the two cooperatives, as well as the embrace of gender equality and youth engagement in their respective communities. “I appreciate that women and men are together in national development, that’s one of the government’s initiatives, that is gender equality. I was pleased to see youth being engaged—not left behind—while there are other places we have seen that they’re excluded. We commend that they engage them so that they will replace us as we get old,” Nyirasafari said. Nyirasafari was also impressed by the openness and the way the potato cooperative has been contributing to their community, praising the members of the Kozamuika cooperative as “civilized”. Potato farmers such as Ernest Kabeja, the head of Kozamuika, and Eraste Mfitumukiza, appreciated the senators’ visit and interactions but emphasised the poor roads connecting Mahoko trading center and climate change as significant challenges for local farmers. Mfitumukiza added that they would like the government to address the effects of climate change so that they can receive irrigation machines during the dry season. Despite the cooperative’s current lack of access to greenhouses for improved potato seeds, it anticipates that “improved infrastructure such as roads will reduce transportation costs in the market,” as emphasised by Kabeja. Antoinette Uwimana, a member, shared her experience joining the cooperative after being mobilised and receiving training. “I have my own house and two cows I received from here,” she excitedly informed the lawmakers. “It’s an honour to be sitting with senators.” ALSO: Senators assess citizen involvement in national programmes Official data from the Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) indicates that over five million individuals are employed across 10,563 cooperatives, a significant rise from 919 in 2005. These cooperatives are involved in initiatives such as poverty alleviation, employment generation, food security, and market access, among other endeavours. As per the statistics, there are 2,656,752 males and 2,177,869 females, making the total number 5,114,731, with a share capital of approx. Rwf 73.5 billion as of 2023.
