RYAF partners with Hinga Weze project to strengthen youth capacity in Agribusiness

Elias Hakizimana.

Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) has signed an MoU with CNFA/Hinga Weze USAID funded project to create a partnership and expand the cooperation between CNFA /HINGA WEZE and RYAF to strength the capacity of agribusinesses members of RYAF and to contribute to breaking the barrier for youth participation in agribusiness and looking to co-invest in agribusiness.

This agreement was signed by RYAF Chairman Jean Baptiste Hategekimana with Daniel Gies, the Chief of Party of CNFA/Hinga Weze and it will last 12 months.

Speaking to The Inspirer, Hategekimana said that the partnership with Hinga Weze will help to boost agriculture productivity, improve farmers’ market access and nutrition outcome of agriculture interventions.

“When we have enough production, we are able to improve nutrition. This partnership is an opportunity to boost our youth capacity through Hinga Weze funding and they will be able to find capital when they are together,” Hategekimana noted.

RYAF Mission is to establish an effective, sustainable nationwide youth in agribusiness forum that promotes, informs, advocates and mobilizes Rwandan youth to engage in agribusiness, leveraging on support and facilitation from stakeholders, resulting on a stable food market, decent jobs and sustainable and inclusive development.

The overall goal of the CNFA/HINGA WEZE activity is to sustainably increase smallholder farmer’s income, improve nutritional status of Rwandan women and children, and increase the resilience of the agriculture and food systems to the changing climate.

Five agricultural value chains are set to achieve all the goals targeted. These include maize, Irish potato, high-iron beans, orange-fleshed sweet potato and horticulture in ten (10) districts of Rwanda (Kayonza, Gatsibo, Ngoma, Bugesera, Nyabihu, Ngororero, Rutsiro, Karongi, Nyamasheke and Nyamagabe).

CNFA/Hinga Weze works to improve its youth inclusion approach across its three components by integrating them in each implementation of its activities in all the five value chains – maize, high iron beans, orange sweet fresh potatoes, Irish potatoes and horticulture, by strengthening Youth participation and empowering them by supporting as much as possible their development initiatives.

RYAF will collaborate and coordinate the implementation of Hinga Weze young graduates’ internship program through the CDE housed within the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to identify and place University level interns in various education domains that match Hinga Weze requirements.

Though this partnership, RYAF will manage to increase the big number of youth in agribusiness activities and will support them in terms of knowledge development and capacity building.

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