More than 130,000 young people will receive agricultural support in five years

More than 130,000 young people will receive agricultural support in five years

Rwanda is preparing to host the African Food Systems Forum (AFS) to be held in Kigali from September 2 to 6, 2024, with some members of the International Forum for Agricultural Development in Africa (AGRA) among the organizers. The content of the meeting showed that in the next five years, Rwanda has set itself the goal of cultivating markets because they have exceeded the level of cultivation of Rwandans.

This is said to have led people to invest more effort in crops like avocados, peppers and chicken farming because they are more profitable than crops like beans or corn if you invest money and time.

Jean Paul Ndagijimana, who works with AGRA, said the five-year strategy of the Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MINAGRI) includes that they are now going to do agriculture to meet the market because their level of agriculture has surpassed that of Rwandans and AGRA and they will support the government.

“AGRA is working with the government to think and develop measures to ensure efficient production, we will invest $50 million, about 50 billion Rwandan dollars, and our other partners expect to invest $300 million, about 300 billion Rwandan dollars,” he said. “With Rwanda’s money, plus the government’s own contribution, in five years we see that Rwanda’s agricultural sector could invest billions of dollars.”

Jean Paul Ndagijimana said they want 132,000 young people to work in agriculture in the next five years.

He added: “So what is the opportunity, we have a lot of young people, a lot of farmers working small fields, doing small things, we give them seeds, the government gives them insurance, they get inputs, and we want them to go from small things to big things because the more things you do, the more money you get.”

Ndagijimana said agriculture will support 132,000 young people in the next five years.

He said, “I at least gave the numbers, we hope that in five years 132,000 Rwandan youth will be supported by agriculture, and instead of you walking around and fighting with two people, you put on a coat and tie and say, I got this pepper or avocado from a guy, I planted it and made a profit.”

“We want women, people with disabilities, people who do small-scale things to start doing large-scale things, and then it’s like they see five or six fields together, some have tomatoes, some have cherries, and they use cooperatives or whatever to put them together because we are going to provide billions of Rwanda worth of avocado seeds, we have this money, and the seeds that people are preparing, people have joined together to do something big,” he said.

The director of the African Institute for Food Security, Armas Pat Sene, said the biennial conference in Rwanda had produced many results in the agricultural sector.

The Director General of the African Centre for Food Security (AFS), Armas Pat Sene, said that the conference was held in Rwanda two years after its inception and a lot had been achieved in the agricultural sector, so more was expected this year.

“It’s time to see how they demonstrate their abilities and talents.”

Olivier Kamana, secretary of MINAGRI, said that this year, they have high hopes for the conference, especially to help young people in the agricultural profession.

Olivier Kamana said Rwanda has high hopes for the conference, which will look at food security

“Here they can meet investors from different countries, even from our country.”

The conference is expected to attract more than 5,000 participants from all over the world, including researchers, policymakers and others involved in agriculture.