What to know about Solange Uwituze, the new State Minister for Agriculture

Solange Uwituze was appointed on Monday, December 1, as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), alongside Telesphore Ndabamenye, who took over as the new Minister. Ndabamenye and Uwituze have previously served at Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB). ALSO READ: Kagame makes new ministerial appointments Uwituze, 51, arrives at MINAGRI with 20 years of experience in higher agricultural education, research management, and sector-wide capacity building. Prior to her appointment, she served as the Deputy Director General in charge of Animal Resources Research and Technology Transfer RAB, where she played a central role in advancing research and innovation for the sector. Her leadership extends across key national institutions. Uwituze serves as Board Chair of Gabiro AgriHub Business Ltd, which provides integrated services supporting modern and sustainable agriculture, and she is the Deputy Board Chair of Gako Meat Company Ltd, both central to Rwanda’s push for large-scale, technology-driven agribusiness. Uwituze also serves on the boards of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the Kigali Collaborative Research Center (KCRC), further strengthening her role in advancing national development and research innovation. Uwituze is also active in the education sector as a founding fellow of the Rwanda Academy of Sciences (RAS), where she leads the Agricultural and Environmental Sciences section. Her work has helped bridge academia, agricultural research, and policymaking, strengthening evidence-based decision-making in the sector. Before joining RAB, Uwituze held senior roles at the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), a network of 106 African universities across 36 countries. She served as Program Manager for Partnerships and Business Management and later as Program Manager for Training and Quality Assurance. She previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the former National University of Rwanda, where she oversaw programs that strengthened national food systems, academic excellence, and research output. Throughout her career, Uwituze has led teams that secured major capacity development projects funded by institutions including the World Bank, the United States Agency for International DevelopmenT (USAID), the Netherlands Universities Foundation for International Cooperation (NUFFIC), among others. Her leadership has been instrumental in elevating Rwanda’s agricultural research capabilities and strengthening regional collaboration. Her appointment comes as Rwanda accelerates efforts to modernise its agriculture sector, invest in value addition, and build resilience in the face of climate change. Uwituze's academic background Uwituze holds a PhD in Animal Sciences obtained from Kansas State University, in Manhattan in 2011, where she conducted research on strategies to improve Rwanda’s agricultural system despite limited arable and grazing land. She also holds a master's degree in Animal Sciences obtained from the same university in 2008. Uwituze studied at the National University of Rwanda, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2002 and later serving as an academic secretary in the university’s agricultural research department. After completing her studies abroad, she returned to Rwanda and rejoined the University of Rwanda as a faculty member, eventually becoming vice-dean, making her the first female dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, in 2012, a position she held until 2014. Until her new appointment at the Ministry, Uwituze was the acting Director General of RAB, a position she had held since July, when Ndabamenye, then-Director General, was appointed the Minister of State for Agriculture and Animal Resources in the same ministry.

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What to know about Solange Uwituze, the new State Minister for Agriculture