The vision 2020 recognizes that the national forest cover must be significantly increased up to 30% of the national land area and the agroforestry systems should cover 85% of the cultivated land (MINILAF, 2018). Planting fruit trees has been proved to be a standalone solution to fight malnutrition and alleviate the hidden hunger.
Regarding the Rwandan community perspectives, the project initiative to increase the surface planted with trees more specifically with fruit trees, is a commitment that the government is willingly to support in line to making the country greener and help the communities to access food and improved food. The country is promoting and supporting the initiatives that add value to the locally produced and transformed products.
It is in this regard that growing fruit trees is essential to increase the raw materials for the manufacturer companies in order to satisfy the local market and concur the international market.
The Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) as a platform whose aim is to change and challenge the mind-set among the youth vis-à-vis the agriculture sector in Rwanda has committed to build on available and valuable opportunities starting from the policies and strategies to engage by creating sustainable businesses that produce and distribute planting materials that will reach to 100 million fruit trees in Rwanda over 5 years.
This project will be implemented by those youth entrepreneurs grouped under the Inputs and Other Agro Services Cluster, whose businesses include making quality and enough inputs, equipments, distribution and farmers capacity development as to optimize the yield and thus satisfying the requests from other sides of agribusiness including the value addition and agro-processing. It is planned that 416 young entrepreneurs in planting materials sub sector will start and grow their businesses by providing quality and timely plantlets and each enterprise will be able to provide 3 direct jobs a part from themselves.
This pilot phase of the project responds to the request of farmers in Gitare Cell after the feasibility study and meeting with the residents to planting 8,000 fruit trees and the activity gathers RYAF members from Kamonyi, the local government and other Gove institutions, different partners and local community of Kamonyi District. 100 Million Fruit plants will be planted in all districts of Rwanda in these 5 years (2019-2024).
The launch of the 2018/2024 of this Fruit Trees Planting Pilot Activity will take place in Kamonyi District, Nyarubaka Sector, Gitare Cell, Mugereke Village, on 28 December 2017. During the event, there will be a community discussion about the benefits and the role of engaging young generation to planting 100 million fruit trees in Rwanda.
The theme of the year is “Planting fruit trees, sustainable business and development”.
Rwanda youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) will use this Fruit Trees Planting Pilot Activity as a chance to encourage citizens especially to be involved in planting 100 million fruits trees across the country for increasing the surface planted with trees more specifically with fruit trees.
This “Fruit Trees Planting Pilot Activity” is aimed at encouraging the young generation and local communities to actively planting fruit trees at home, proper maintenance for their food and nutritional securities, but mostly financial returns and healthy environment.
For the entire country, this is an important step in testing the feasibility of a RYAF five-year project to plant 100,000,000 fruit trees across the country, which is our core value of respect and conservation to the environment to mitigate the changing climate while ensuring food and nutritional securities.
While RYAF aims to change the attitudes of young people vis-à-vis the agricultural sector, this initiative will contribute to solving the problems of poverty and malnutrition in Rwanda while creating sustainable jobs along the entire value chains.
Through in this program RYAF target to plant 100 Million Fruit plants in different districts of Rwanda in 5 years where 15,000,000 fruit trees will be planted in first year; 25,000,000 in second year; 35,000,000 in third year; 15,000,000 in fourth year; and 10,000,000 in fifth year .
RYAF is a platform whose aim is to change the current mindset among the youth vis-à-vis the agriculture sector in Rwanda, while reaching out to other farming groups for awareness on business oriented agriculture. (End)