30 August 2024, Rwamagana District, Rwanda – The Assistant to the Administrator for the Bureau for Resilience, Environment, and Food Security (REFS) at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Deputy Coordinator for Development of Feed the Future, Dina Esposito, led a delegation comprising Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President Dr Agnes Kalibata, USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security Chief Scientist Dr Rob Bertram, IITA Country Representative and Chief of Party of the Great Lakes Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative Rapid Delivery Hub (AID-I Great Lakes) Abdou (Matieyedou) Konlambigue, and Rwamagana District Mayor Mbonyumuvunyi Radjab to visit some of AID-I Great Lakes Project’s sites in Rwanda to assess firsthand the progress being made to enhance Rwanda’s seed systems.
The visitors directly engaged with scaling partners, including Emma Uwera, a seed entrepreneur and owner of I&J Harvest Ltd, and other agrodealers. They were also shown the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) seed certification processes.
The visitors commended the project’s role in improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers through access to disease-resistant, nutrient-rich seeds and scaling sustainable practices across the country.
The delegation had lively and extensive interactions with AID-I Great Lakes scaling partners across various levels, giving them on-the-ground insights into the tangible and transformative support provided by Feed the Future/USAID and the project’s profound effect on improving the livelihoods of some of Rwanda’s smallholder farmers.
Emma narrated the process of producing high-quality bean seeds and the pivotal role of AID-I Great Lakes in expanding her business to several new locations in Rwanda. This expansion has not only increased seed accessibility for farmers, but also promoted the adoption of good agronomic practices.
She works closely with RAB, acquiring early-generation seeds to produce clean seeds that are distributed to farmers through agrodealers across different districts. Recognizing the challenge of persuading agrodealers to stock bean seeds owing to low market demand and lack of subsidies, Emma has established on-site innovative show-and-tell, a proven effective marketing tool through demonstration plots near agrodealer shops. These plots showcase the superior quality and yield of the new seeds, enabling farmers to make informed purchasing decisions—knowing what to expect regarding crop performance and management, including optimizing production.
Highlighting the potential impact of these efforts, Konlambigue underscored the importance of replacing old seeds with disease-resistant varieties rich in nutrients like iron and zinc, which also promise higher yields.
The delegation also toured a seed testing laboratory jointly run by RAB and Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA). Here, they saw, among others, the seed certification process and implementation of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)—a technology for improving capacities for cassava disease diagnostics as a crucial step in the inspection and certification of early-generation seed in Rwanda.
RAB Director General Dr Telesphore Ndabamenye expressed optimism about the laboratory’s progress and acknowledged the critical role of the private sector in expediting seed testing and certification through collaboration with RAB.
Esposito praised AID-I Great Lakes collaborative efforts: “The work being done here is a model of what can be achieved through partnership and innovation. We must continue to focus on scalability, ensuring that this success is replicated beyond the project’s timeframe and made sustainable in the long run for farmers and seed entrepreneurs.”
The AID-I GLR project continues to make remarkable strides in transforming Rwanda’s seed systems. By partnering with local seed entrepreneurs and supporting agrodealers across different districts, the project has successfully enhanced the availability of improved disease-resistant seeds to smallholder farmers.
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