The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Jean Claude Musabyimana, has encouraged Rwandans, particularly those in the agricultural sector, to embrace technology that he said will transform their fortunes.
This was the message he carried for various stakeholders at the closing of the 14th edition of the annual agricultural show held at the Agriculture Exhibition showground in Mulindi, Gasabo District.
Given that agriculture is the largest income earner not only for Rwandans but for the domestic economy, much has been achieved to support the practice, including drawing up a six-year strategic plan (2018-2024).
The Agricultural Sector Strategic Plan focuses on moving from subsistence to market- led agricultural sector, which implies that much has to be done for the nation to accomplish this objective in order to make Rwanda’s products compete positively on the global market.
Therefore, many techniques have to be designed to ensure that this dream is achieved, including instances of reduction of post-harvest losses, value added to agricultural products and enhanced means of irrigation, agricultural insurance, among others.
The exhibition was held at the Mulindi Agricultural Showground in Gasabo District from June 18- 26. The number of exhibitors is estimated to have exceeded 400 from 20 nations from all over the globe.
The exhibition also attracted over 10,000 visitors, reflecting significant interest in the event. This year’s agricultural exhibition ran under the theme ‘’Promoting competitiveness of Rwanda Agriculture’’. Musabyimana noted that the use of technology would make Rwanda’s agriculture more competitive. “There has been an innovation that was also exhibited here where farmers have been able to carry out irrigation using drones and this ensures that farming can go on all year long without getting worried about the absence of water,’’ he noted
Musabyimana observed that with technology, farmers can develop all kinds of plants throughout the year in all areas of the nation regardless of weather trends.
Other techniques also displayed at the week-long case were the value- added products such as avocado oil, which was a fresh development.
This implies that even if the nation generates a lot of avocados, processing would help guarantee a constant market and boost demand on the global market.
The Permanent Secretary also expressed pleasure in the large amount of young people involved in farming and related areas.
He said this while appreciating the students of the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Center (IPRC) Musanze who made an overhead sprinkler that will help farmers water their crops especially those that grow to a remarkable height and can not be sprayed using a knap bag sprayer.
He also observed the significance of many agricultural products that are on the market after processing and adding value to them.
He cited yogurt and cheese, sweet potato floor, avocado oil and indicated that the processed agricultural products are the ones that are exported to the global market.
At the case, Rwandan exhibitor representative Jean Claude Shirimpumpu thanked the government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources for the manner it supports farming through activities like this one. He also observed that as the agriculture business is increasing rapidly, it creates the need for agricultural show especially for farming products and instruments and one for only livestock and birds.
This is because various members of the public are involved in agriculture. Separating them would therefore imply targeting distinct players individually.
Some of the exhibitors at the week- long case included learners from the University of Rwanda’s Food Science and Technology College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. She claims most of the products they displayed were those used for study purposes.
The goods included pawpaw and carrot juice, cakes and bread produced from orange sweet potatoes as well as sweet potato flooring.
She added that processing these farms into products such as bread and juice solves the problem of post-harvest losses. Usually farmers grow plants in abundance and after harvesting, yields generally go bad owing to absence of adequate storage equipment. However, she notes that the processing of sweet potatoes into the ground guarantees a better and lasting end product.
Jean Claude Shirimpumpu, an exhibitor from the Northern Province, showed his pigs and, to the surprise of many, he had a 3-year-old pig weighing 487 kilograms, saying he has been in company for the last 10 years and says he has no regrets.
On the problem of absence of capital to invest in agriculture, there was a solution known as ‘ Ikofi ‘ a Bank of Kigali service that allows a farmer to obtain a loan from the bank and be able to finance his tasks such as the acquisition of farm equipment, labour, among others.
One incredibly new technology that captured the attention of many was the innovation where one could monitor one’s garden from the comfort of one’s office or home. This recent development enables to determine the quantity of water in the soil.