One Acre Fund, Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) and US-based Howard G. Buffett Foundation have partnered to launch Seed Centre at Gashora in Rwanda’s Bugesera District to support the country’s seed system enabling farmers access high-quality seeds besides training of professionals.
The centre which is funded by Howard G. Buffett Foundation is going to be housed at the RICA campus and is designed to improve farmer resilience and farm productivity.
According to the initiators, the centre will partner with seed companies to offer them services they need to boost their growth and process more high-quality, improved seed to over one million Rwandan farmers in the next five years.
This is in addition to contributing to the East Africa nation’s policy to promote a strong domestic seed sector.
Lack of high-quality seeds
In Rwanda and the entre East Africa region, there has been lack of high-quality seeds even by seed companies that need to provide different varieties for growers.
In Rwanda, for instance, around five per cent of certified potato seed demand of certified potato seeds by farmers is met by the government.
The Seed Centre encompasses three key initiatives that will collectively bolster the seed sector over the coming five years.
These initiatives comprise the Potato Seed Venture, aimed at facilitating the production of 10,000 metric tons of disease-free potato seeds for market distribution.
Additionally, there is the Multigrain Seed Processing endeavor, which seeks to empower local seed companies with the means to professionally process 4,000 metric tons of seeds.
Lastly, the Seed Innovation Centre is dedicated to training more than 60 seed professionals, fostering quicker releases of varieties into the market by private seed companies.
Collaboration with local farmers
The overarching objective of the Seed Centre is to provide support to seed companies in collaboration with Rwandan farmers, enabling them to develop their own crop varieties, like hybrid maize, that better align with the needs of the farming community.
High-quality seed constitutes a vital input for smallholder farmers, serving to enhance farm productivity significantly.
The Seed Centre, situated at RICA, is poised to address major challenges confronted by Rwandan seed companies, such as the scarcity of technical expertise and access to expensive infrastructure. Its mission is to promote innovation within the seed sector, thereby benefitting farmers and enhancing food security on a broader scale.
Role of seeds in food security
Dr. Joseph Moughan, the Founding Director of the Seed Centre at RICA, emphasized the critical role of seeds in ensuring food security and commended Rwanda’s visionary leadership, robust governmental institutions, and effective regulatory bodies for creating an ideal investment environment for high-tech agricultural products like seeds, which demand stringent regulation and standardization.
The Seed Centre of Excellence will offer Rwandan seed companies five tailored business-to-business services to address their specific operational challenges. These services encompass variety selection and parent seed for certified seed production, private field inspection and quality testing, professional certifications, processing and storage, and seed marketing and sales.
Howard G. Buffett, Chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, expressed the foundation’s support for the Seed Centre’s work in maximizing the benefits of enhanced productivity for farmers who embrace improved farming practices such as conservation agriculture. This support aligns with the foundation’s investment at RICA and the agricultural priorities set by the Rwandan government.
Seed Centre courses
Dr. Ron Rosati, Vice Chancellor of Administration and Operations at RICA, disclosed that the Seed Centre would offer certificate courses designed for recent graduates and seed company staff, available on a part-time or full-time basis.
“These courses will cover all aspects of the seed industry, including breeding, variety selection, maintenance, processing, and quality control, complementing the education provided on the RICA campus,” said Rosati.
John Muvara, Managing Director of RISCO, expressed optimism regarding the Seed Centre’s anticipated benefits to seed companies during the groundbreaking event at the RICA campus in Bugesera. He highlighted the Seed Centre’s potential to serve as a thriving incubation hub, providing essential support to Rwandan seed companies in the form of quality varieties and parent seed access, processing and testing facilities, as well as market development and brand support. This, he believes, will pave the way for the success of Rwandan seed companies, creating a promising future for the sector.
