Outgoing FAO boss backs Rwanda on agri-tech, integrated farming

The outgoing Country Representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to Rwanda has applauded “the good partnership” between the two parties, which facilitated the implementation of projects in ICT for agriculture, and integrated farming. Gualbert Gbehounou was speaking on Thursday, April 28, during a farewell visit to Speaker Donatille Mukabalisa, at the Parliamentary Buildings in Kimihurura, Kigali. Gbehounou, who has led the Kigali office since 2018, said that Rwanda has a conducive legislative environment that eases FAO’s work in the country. FAO, he said, supports agriculture as a business with intent to turnaround the fortunes of farmers and make them rich. And, in Rwanda, he said “we have a conducive environment for that, and FAO has been supporting that very much, particularly youth engagement in agribusiness.” He added: “For example, we have developed a platform that we call ICT for agriculture where farmers can go and look for information on the weather situation as well as information on livestock,” he said. He also indicated that the technology-based platform helps stockbreeders to deal with livestock diseases that threaten production, and help them to prepare a balanced diet from their agricultural production. It also supports farmers through e-commerce whereby they get information about prices from different markets. Another project that Gbehounou mentioned is the integrated crop, livestock and aquaculture production whose successful pilot was executed in Rulindo district. “It means that farmers who are producing lets say potatoes or vegetables to the extent possible, will add to that livestock production, and wherever water is available, that would be completed with aquaculture – fish farming,” he said. “The advantage of that is it is sustainable at three levels: environment as when farmers integrate crop production to livestock, to fish farming, they are careful about the way they use pesticides because if they use too much pesticides, they will be harming their own livestock or even killing their fish. This model is also economically sustainable because if for one reason or another, prices collapse in the crop, livestock or aquaculture sector, the farmer who has been integrating these three sectors, still has one or two to catch up with. So, his/her income remains relatively stable,” he observed. Moreover, he said, that model performs well in terms of nutritional aspect, as it enables farmers, and consumers at large, to have a diversified protein source – including from plants, livestock and fish, which improves nutrition. Speaker Mukabalisa thanked Gbehounou for the good partnership between FAO and the Government of Rwanda to advance the agriculture sector. “We commend his leadership in terms of reinforcing different interventions of FAO through different projects and programmes that contributed a lot in promoting the agriculture sector, nutrition and food security as well as the country’s economic growth through agriculture,” she said. Meanwhile, Gbehounou said he will be missing the friendship, network that he has built here, and the country’s beautiful landscape, among other memories. “I will be leaving Rwanda, but Rwanda will be living in me forever,” he expressed.

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Outgoing FAO boss backs Rwanda on agri-tech, integrated farming