Rwanda minister commends china''s agricultural tech transfer
DATE:2015-10-13 SOURCE:Xinhua News Agency
KIGALI, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda''s minister of state in charge of agriculture Tony Nsanganira has hailed the Chinese government''s support in agricultural skills development in Rwanda and technology transfer.
Citing the Rwanda-China Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre as a success story of bilateral agricultural cooperation, the official said the center has helped improve agricultural knowledge and skills among Rwandan farmers.
The center, launched in 2012 and located in Huye district, southern Rwanda, aims to enhance food security and boost farmers'' income through advanced technologies.
It covers an area of 22 hectares and specializes in paddy and upland rice, mushroom, silk farming and soil and water conservation.
"The Rwanda-China Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre has made great achievements in the mushroom production technology. Their technology now reaches virtually the whole country," said Nsanganira in a recent interview with Xinhua.
He noted that there are currently more than 15 cooperatives producing mushroom substrate which is provided to farmers for growing mushroom in the country.
"Of all the four programs, the mushroom technology is the most successful, with significant impact and high adoption rate. We appreciate the cooperation which promotes agriculture skills development in Rwanda," he said.
Since its establishment, the centre has been training farmers mainly through field sessions, conducting research on soil adaptability and high yielding crop varieties, building farmers'' capacity and demonstrating new farming, water and soil conservation methods.
Data showed Rwanda''s agriculture sector has registered an annual growth rate of five percent over the last 10 years.