When two young journalists were living together in a rented house in Kigali in 2017, they started pondering how to get an alternative source of income apart from doing journalism. Today, from their Rwf800,000 startup capital saved from, Dieudonné Niyodushima and Alexis Musabirema who are founders of Exodus farm Ltd- are making fortunes from vegetables especially French beans growing in Rilima sector of Bugesera district. There is a lot that inspired the duo to turn to farming. “One day when I visited a trade fair in Gikondo , some exhibitors told us there was an affordable house that can cost Rwf8 million if one has a plot. But when I did calculations I realized that I could make it in 27 years considering the status of my savings,” “This pushed me to seek alternative source of income by investing the savings I was earning. Today, I hope I can get the same house within not more than 10 year thanks to farming,” said Dieudonné Niyodushima, the Co-founder. He said that they tried many businesses but later found that there is untapped opportunity in the agriculture sector which youth have not yet exploited. “Venturing into farming does not require starting with a huge amount of capital. It requires to start with the little you have and it will grow,” he noted. The two entrepreneurs, who are graduates from University of Rwanda in School of Journalism and Communication, jointly started growing pepper on a 0.5 hectare farm in Rulindo District in 2018 but later realized that the climate was not favorable for it in this area. Due to cold weather, pepper could take a long time to mature contrary to Eastern province where it takes very few months. This made them shift to Bugesera District. “We have so far tried pepper, watermelon, onions, and tomatoes and now we are growing French beans. We supply both the local and export market,” he said. In the beginning, the entrepreneurs were doing both journalism and farming at the same time. However, they say that the need for closer supervision and ownership of their profitable agribusiness triggered them to quit the job. “I quit journalism at the end of 2018 and headed to the farm and my colleague remained in the career. However the following year, he also quit the job so that we could do farming professionally together,” he said. How the business grew up In 2019, the entrepreneurs leased one hectare in Bugesera District. “Today we are growing vegetables on six hectares which we lease. Currently we are focusing on growing French beans which we export. ,” he said. After one year the young entrepreneurs’ company got a loan from Business Development Fund (BDF). “We got Rwf7 million that helped us to expand the business and buy irrigation equipment. The irrigation equipment was fuelled by diesel but later under the support of government and farmers’ joint efforts, a solar-powered irrigation was installed. We exploit all agricultural seasons,” he disclosed. So far the duo employs five permanent workers including an agronomist while others are casual laborers. “Most often we use at least 20 casual laborers and during the harvest the number reaches about 80 workers who get Rwf1,000 per day each,” he said. He said it takes around Rwf1.5 million investment on growing French beans on one hectare including harvesting and transport costs adding that this generates Rwf3 million after two months which is the period the crop takes to grow. “We do not plant all hectares at once. We take a part of them and plant them every month so that we are consistent in supplying the market. It takes only 45 days to start harvesting and then you harvest in the next four weeks harvesting every week,” he said. The farmers harvest 12 tonnes per hectare, he said adding they harvest and supply at least one tonne of French beans every week. “The exporters pay us Rwf600 per Kilogramme of French beans,” he said. Niyodushima said that they seek to start exporting vegetables on their own without passing through other exporters. Advice and challenges “The advice to other young people is that they should take risks and venture into farming. They should start with little capital they can afford and expand later. Normally they should expect some risks when they start any business because they have to start learning about that sector. So when you start with little you have, it grows while also learning to improve,” Niyodushima advised. Alexis Musabirema, the Co-founder added that the other challenge is that many people have not yet considered agriculture as a business. “The other thing is that if you face risk and count loss you have not to be discouraged. It requires keeping trying,” he said. He added that lack of access to a sustainable market also discourages some farmers adding that there is a need for diversifying markets and market linkage. The main current challenges the entrepreneurs are facing include hippopotamus from Lake Rumira that damage their crops and cause losses. What community members say about them Jacqueline Nyirabahizi, a casual laborer for the two young entrepreneurs said that due to prolonged dry spells, smallholder farmers do not till their land due to lack of irrigation and remain jobless. Jacqueline Nyirabahizi, one of farmers who work for Exodus Firm Ltd says she earns Rwf1,000 per day She said that they seek jobs from those who irrigate and grow crops in all seasons. “I get paid Rwf1,000 per day. I spend part of the wage and save through a savings group in the community. I have managed to buy two goats. I have four children who rely on me,” she said. Emmanuel Nsanzimana, a married man says that he has managed to buy a plot on which he plans to build a house thanks to the young entrepreneurs-investment in farming. “We also learn from them in terms of good agricultural practices,” he said.
