By Elie Mutangana, Kigali
The first cohort of agricultural students of a Rwanda-based higher learning institution – the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA), have graduated after almost four years of learning.
The the annual graduation ceremony which too place on Tuesday, August 8 in the Bugesera District of Rwanda, was attended by President Paul Kagame.
The 75 Rwandan-nationality graduates have attained their Bachelor of Science in Conservation Agriculture, with Specialisation in different specific faculties such as; Agriculture Chemistry, Conservation Ecology, Post-harvest Management, Agricultural Mechanization and many others.
The Institute was established in 2019 by an American Philanthropist, farmer and conservationist, Howard Graham Buffett under his Howard G Buffett Foundation.
With the support of the Government, the Institute gives a fully-funded scholarships to applicants with enthusiasm in Agriculture and English proficiency.
According Dr.Ron Rosat, Vice Chancellor of Administration and Operations at RICA, the Institute was founded with goals of preparing innovators and entrepreneurs with knowledge and skills to improve the productivity and profitability of agriculture in Rwanda and East Africa.
He disclosed that they initially encountered setbacks resulting from the COVID 19 Pandemic, which prompted to pause operations for almost a year.
“But despite of that, I am now fully confident that the graduates are prepared to meet challenges that lie ahead throughout their career,” he said during his opening remark.
President Kagame challenged graduates to identify and address long-term challenges of small-holders farmers through conservation agriculture, with their full attention and make it their purpose.
“Agriculture is critical driver of Africa’s economic growth but we have not yet unlocked its full potential,” Kagame acknowledged.
According to Chichi Brave Ntaganira, the graduates speaker, his peers didn’t not wait for graduation to start living in their mission as 60% of them are already self-employed in their agricultural startups.
“We deeply understand the noble mission behind RICA’s creation, which is to sustainably address food insecurity challenges in Rwanda and Africa,” he said.
While the unfavorable weather conditions have hit the Agriculture productivity, thus leading to soaring prices of foodstuffs, the students attained knowledge and skills in Agricultural technology such as in irrigation, which will enable them to produce in all seasons.
With reference to National Institute of Statistics Rwanda (NISR), Agriculture sector contributes to about 35% to National GDP, employing 70% of the population.
