When Jean-Marie Vianney Nsabimana fled violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), he, like thousands of other refugees, depended almost entirely on humanitarian assistance. ALSO READ: Refugee welfare: Eight things Rwanda has done to improve their lives Today, Nsabimana is among 1,150 young refugees who have formed a cooperative that is building sustainable livelihoods through integrated organic farming. The cooperative buys fertilised eggs, incubates them into chicks and raises them into mature chickens. Poultry manure is used as organic fertiliser to grow chilli, maize and soybeans using solar-powered irrigation, with the produce supplied to local markets around Mugombwa Refugee Camp in Gisagara District. Part of the maize and soybean harvest is also processed into poultry feed. We started with 500 chicks two years ago, but we did not have an incubation machine and lost 300 chicks. After receiving more support and training, we acquired an incubator that can hatch 4,000 eggs at a time, and we now sell the chicks on the local market, Nsabimana said. The cooperative currently has about 2,400 chicks at different growth stages, while others have matured into chickens. It also owns a feed-processing machine capable of producing one tonne of poultry feed per hour. ALSO READ: More Congolese refugees flee to Rwanda as fighting renews We buy maize and soybeans from fellow farmers and mix them with sunflower, animal bones and dagaa fish to produce poultry feed according to customers' orders, he said. The cooperative also produces about 20 sacks of organic fertiliser every month from poultry waste. An egg sells for Rwf180, a chick for Rwf3,000 and a mature chicken for Rwf10,000. Poultry feed costs Rwf780 per kilogramme for chicks and Rwf850 for mature chickens, he added. From aid recipients to entrepreneurs Prince Ndungutse has undergone a similar transformation.After fleeing conflict in Masisi, eastern DRC, in 2014, he relied on humanitarian assistance like many other refugees. Today, he helps manage the Icyerekezo Misizi Cooperative in Mugombwa Refugee Camp, where members grow chilli, maize and soybeans, raise poultry and supply produce to local markets. I came to Rwanda as a child and started life in the refugee camp. Today, we grow crops, raise chickens, produce our own feed and sell our products. It has helped us earn an income and improve our lives, Ndungutse said. Crop residues from maize and soybeans are processed into poultry feed, while chicken manure is used to improve crop production under the solar-powered farming system. Another refugee, Angelique Batamuliza, has also established her own poultry business alongside her work with the cooperative. I started with seven chicks, and now I have 30 chickens, she said. The project involves 2,000 young refugees divided into two groups, with one focusing on poultry farming and the other on crop production. ALSO READ: Rwf6bn renewable energy project to benefit refugee camps The crop-growing group harvests about eight tonnes of chilli per hectare, selling it at Rwf800 per kilogramme. Members have also been trained in basic veterinary care, poultry nutrition and identifying healthy chicks. 15,000 households targeted by 2030 The youth farming cooperatives are part of Rwanda's Refugee Sustainable Graduation Strategy (2025-2030), which aims to help 50 per cent of camp-based refugee households, about 14,403 households, or roughly 15,000 transitions from humanitarian assistance to self-reliance by 2030. This strategy represents a bold shift from dependency to opportunity. Its vision is to enable refugee households to progressively graduate from humanitarian assistance through improved livelihoods, financial inclusion, vocational skills development, entrepreneurship and stronger integration into local economic systems, said the Minister in charge of Emergency Management, Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Albert Murasira. Rwanda is expanding partnerships to improve livelihoods, increase access to finance, strengthen skills development and create pathways to employment and entrepreneurship. Murasira cited Practical Action as one of the organisations supporting refugee youth through agribusiness projects. Rwanda currently hosts more than 139,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. ALSO READ: How refugees in Kiziba are coping after aid reductions Our ambition is clear: within the next five years, at least 50 per cent of refugee households should have graduated from dependence on humanitarian assistance and become economically self-reliant, he said. Denyse Umubyeyi, Country Director of Practical Action Rwanda, said the organisation starts by identifying market opportunities rather than distributing aid. Businesses have an important role to play by investing in refugee entrepreneurship, creating employment opportunities, facilitating access to finance, strengthening value chains and expanding markets that benefit both refugees and host communities, she said. Through the Farm to Market for Refugee Youth project, implemented with support from AGRA and the Mastercard Foundation, refugees are linked directly to buyers before production begins. One of the biggest challenges is producing a good harvest without a market. We identified the buyer before farmers planted, Umubyeyi said. She added that improving access to affordable agricultural inputs, strengthening logistics and reducing transaction costs have made agribusiness more profitable. After training cooperatives and identifying promising value chains, we conducted soil tests to determine which crops would perform best. We selected chilli because it is a high-value crop with a ready market. An exporter provides seedlings, agronomic support and buys the entire harvest, she said. UNHCR Representative Ritu Shroff said Rwanda's refugee policies have enabled refugees to contribute to the economy rather than remain dependent on aid. Refugees are economic actors. They are contributors, innovators and entrepreneurs, she said. She noted that access to education, employment, financial services and freedom of movement has strengthened partnerships between refugees, businesses and development organisations. Emmanuel Mugabo, Managing Director of Inkomoko Rwanda, said the private sector has a key role in helping refugee entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses through business development services, access to finance and market linkages. He said stronger partnerships between government, humanitarian organisations and businesses can unlock refugees' entrepreneurial potential while creating jobs and benefiting host communities.
