Irish potato cooperatives in Musanze District and neighboring areas are set to benefit from a five-year partnership between Ruhengeri Institute of Applied Sciences and TH Bingen University of Applied Sciences from the German State of Rhineland-Palatinate. The deal seeks to improve farming practices through the use of technology. The partnership will also be based on knowledge sharing and transfer and will primarily benefit Irish potato farmers, cooperatives, consumers, students and local researchers among others. Fr Dr. Fabien Hagenimana, Rector of INES Ruhengeri told reporters that the deal worth €7 million will usher in a research project called ‘Green Space’. “We want to put forward researches that respond to the country’s development needs by learning from Rhineland Palatinate,” he said. The two universities are already jointly carrying out a feasibility study on wine growing in Rwanda. The executive secretary of Musanze District, Peter Bagirishya said that he was confident that the partnership will revitalize the agriculture sector in the district. “This partnership will allow us to exploit all the resources …we just want to apply the technology that German is using,” he noted. “Among the challenges that we still have is poor quality and low supply of seeds as well as the resistance to land consolidation.” editor@newtimesrwanda.com
