Monday 28 May 2012

Rwanda Refutes Claims It Is Fuelling War In Eastern DRC


m ojhdfh 300x180 Rwanda refutes claims it is fuelling war in Eastern DRC
Rwanda refutes claims it is fuelling war in Eastern DRC
Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo has labelled rumours circulating about the country’s involvement in the eastern DRC as “categorically false and dangerous”.
She was responding to reports on BBC of a UN report alleging that soldiers had been recruited and trained in Rwanda and then transferred to the eastern DRC to take part in conflict between government and rebel forces.
“Rwanda has maintained from the outset that the current instability in the eastern DRC is a matter for the Congolese government and military.
Rwanda’s national interest is served by containing conflict and building deeper bonds of peace with our neighbours, said Mushikiwabo in a statement adding that the international community continues to neglect real issues of stability by limiting itself to symptoms instead of the root cause of suffering in the region region.
Mushikiwabo also urged the UN force in the DRC (MONUSCO) to return to its original mandate instead of spreading rumours and generating reports.
“This billion-dollar-a-year operation makes up one quarter of the UN’s entire peacekeeping budget, and yet it has been a failure from day one, said the Minister in a statement released on Monday.
“Instead of pursuing its mandate to eradicate the FDLR menace and help stabilise the region, MONUSCO has become a destabilising influence, primarily concerned with keeping hold of its bloated budgets and justifying its ongoing existence.
Rwanda has received several refugees who are severely wounded and traumatised as a result of the UN’s failure to protect civilians in eastern DRC.”
According to the Minister, Rwanda has maintained peaceful and constructive relations with the government of the DRC since 2009, since which time both countries have enjoyed a significant “peace dividend”,
“Peace in the region enables us to attract investment, slash the poverty rate, and extend the horizons of opportunity for our citizens.   That’s why claims that Rwanda would undermine good relations with our neighbours are not only wrong, but wrong-headed — it would be in clear violation of our own national interest.
Mushikiwabo reiterated continued close working relations with the DRC government to bring back peace and security that the people of the region have been denied for far too long.

Since the outbreak of fighting, the Government of Rwanda’s primary focus has been providing safe refuge for the 9,239 Congolese citizens who have entered its borders in recent weeks.
Through collaboration with UNHCR, the World Food Programme and the WHO, the refugee situation remains “challenging but manageable.

Friday 25 May 2012

Rwanda President Paul kagame to attend the 10th extra-ordinary summit of EAC heads of state




Rwanda President Paul kagame to attend the 10th extra ordinary 300x150 Rwanda President Paul kagame to attend the 10th extra ordinary summit of EAC heads of stateThe East African Community heads of State will gather at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge in Arusha, Tanzania this Saturday 28.04.2012 in the 10th extraordinary summit that brings together heads of member countries.
President Paul Kagame of the republic of Rwanda , Mwai Kibaki of the Republic of Kenya and Chairperson of the EAC Summit, President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania, President Pierre Nkurunziza of the Republic of Burundi and President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of the Republic of Uganda are all expected at the Summit.
At the Summit, the Heads of State will consider, among others, appointment of a new Deputy Secretary General from Uganda; renewal of contract of Mr. Jean Claude Nsengiyumva (Deputy Secretary General – Productive and Social Sectors); a report of the Council of Ministers on the proposed attainment of a Single Customs Territory; and a report of the Council of Ministers on the application by the Republic of South Sudan to join the East African Community.
Meanwhile, the 24th Extraordinary meeting of the EAC Council of the Ministers is currently underway at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC). The Council meeting is being held through a series of sessions which has seen the session of Senior Officials running from 20-22 April, followed by the Permanent Secretaries session from 23-24 April while the ministerial session is taking place this Wednesday 25th April.


http://newsofrwanda.com/ubuvugizi/7070/kagame-president-paul-kagame-attend-10th-extra-ordinary-summit-eac-heads-state/

Kagame | Perezida Kagame yemereye intara y’uburasirazuba kubona amahotel


N’ubwo intara y’iburasirazuba ikize ku biyaga byinshi ndetse hakiyongeraho no kugira pariki y’akagera niyo ntara ibarizwamo inyubako nke zo kwakira abantu zirimo amahoteli ndetse ikagira n’amazi meza adahagije abaturage.

m Perezida Kagame 199x300 Kagame | Perezida Kagame yemereye intara y’uburasirazuba kubona amahotelIyi ntara kandi iri muntara zibarizwamo ubworozi bukungahaye ariko ikaba ifite ikibazo cyo kubona amazi yo guha amatungo.

Umuyobozi w’akarere ka Gatsibo Ruboneza Ambroise avuga ko kubona Hoteli biri mu mihigo yabo mu mwaka utaha mu mujyi wa Kabarore mugihe aka karere gakora ku nkengero z’ikiyaga cya muhazi, naho umuyobozi w’intara y’iburasirazuba Uwamariya Odette avuga ko bikwiye ko mu mwaka wa 2013 muri iyi ntara umubare w’amahoteri wakiyongera.
Perezida Kagame avuga ko ibibazo biri muri iyi ntara bishobora guhuzwa n’amahirwe ahari maze ibibazo bikaba ibisubizo kuko kuba hacyeneye amahoteli ari amahirwe kubashoramari babanyarwanda bifuza gushora imari yayo mukubaka amahoteli.

Akavuga ko abatuye intara y’iburasirazuba bagomba kubona amahoteri ahubatswe bakareka kumva amahoteri mu magambo maze bashoje ikivi bakabona aho baruhukira ndetse nabahora banywa u rwagwa na waragi zitica ubuzima bakabona ibinyobwa byiza banywera ahantu heza.

Umuyobozi w’akarere ka Gatsibo avuga ko ibibazo by’amazi bibangamira akarere mu iterambere
m Perezida Kagame 2 300x199 Kagame | Perezida Kagame yemereye intara y’uburasirazuba kubona amahotelBimwe mubituma iyi ntara itagira amahoteri nk’izindi ntara harimo kuba idafite ibikorwa remezo bihagije cyane ko ahashyirwa amahoteri hafite amahirwe yo gukundwa ariko ikibazo kikaba imihanda nko kunkengero za pariki y’akagera haba no kubiyaga bibarizwa muri iyi ntara cyane ko ifite ibiyaga byinshi kandi byakundwa harimo Muhazi, Mugesera n’ibyohoha nibindi bibarizwa muri pariki y’akagera ariko imihanda no gutunganya inkombe z’ibiyaga bikaba bikiri hasi.

Indi mbogamizi ibangamira iyubakwa ry’amahoteri mu ntara y’uburasirazuba ni ibikorwa remezo birimo amazi meza kuko abashobora kubona amazi meza batarenze metero 300 muri iyi ntara bagera kuri 65%. Ikibazo cy’amazi kikaba cyiyongera kugira amashanyarazi kuko henshi Atari yakahagejejwe cyakora intara y’iburasirazuba ikaba iteganya mu mwaka wa 2013 kuzakoresha miriyari 3 mukongera amazi meza muri iyi ntara cyane ko n’indwara z’isuku nke ahanini ziyibonekamo zikomoka gukoresha amazi adasukuye.


http://newsofrwanda.com/ibikorwa/6858/kagame-perezida-kagame-yemereye-intara-y%E2%80%99uburasirazuba-kubona-amahotel/

Rwanda Event : Rwanda to host international conference on growing SMEs event


Rwanda Event : Rwanda to host international conference on growing SMEs event

Rwanda to host internationalThe government of Rwanda is set to host a 2 days international conference on growing small and midium enterprises(SME’s) sheduled to take place at Lemigo hotel May 17th and 18th 2012.
This unique platform will bring together entrepreneurs, investors, leaders and experts to explore and activate the SME sector development in Africa and beyond.  More than 400 participants will join to connect with local and international networks of entrepreneurs, investors and business personalities. The event is meant to accelerate investment and showcase investment opportunities in growing small and medium enterprises.
0ver 20 pre-selected and trained high growth entrepreneurs from emerging markets including Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Liberia, Burundi, Palestine, Tanzania and Kosovo will be among the invited countries to present their companies to investors and peers.
Key speakers at the conference will include the minister of trade and industry Hon Francois Kanimba, Kobina Egyir Daniel the Legal Adviser/Mission Leader of the International Finance Corporation in Liberia and Anthony Nderitu director of Rwanda microfinance Ltd among others.
Growing SMEs’ is a premium international conference geared towards SME growth. The conference brings together high growth entrepreneurs and experts in the topics of developing, growing and financing SMEs. Its aim is to facilitate knowledge, exchange, networking and learning, hence further paving the way for advanced SME development and therefore economic growth.

Thursday 24 May 2012

Rwanda | Rwanda: food security at the center of Rwandas development


With the increasing population of about 12million people in Rwanda and since nearly 90 percent of the population relies on subsistence agriculture and farmers are dependent on rain for good harvests,food security has become a major concern for the government of Rwanda, thus the agricultural sector has been given a high priority in the government’s planning for development.
Though food crops hold a very dominant position in Rwandan agricultureRwanda is among the countries with chronic food deficiencies as well as low incomes.
It is within this framework that Rwanda joined the rest of the world to commit itself to reduce the malnourished population as stipulated by the commitments made during the World Food Summit held in Rome in 1996.
food security at the 1 Rwanda | Rwanda: food security at the center of Rwandas developmentOne of the areas affected with drought was Bugesera District in the Eastern province of Rwanda, the land was so dry that it could barely produced any crops, this lead the community to be poverty stricken and this called for intervention from the government of Rwanda and the USAID to help the community secure food.
Besides famine, the area frequently reported some of the country’s most extreme poverty. However, after some well calculated interventions, the district is gradually moving towards food sufficiency
In 2009, the African Development Bank committed $47m (estimated Rwf 27billion) in order to improve falling agricultural output and lengthy droughts which affected almost a million people living in the Bugesera (Rwanda) and Kirundo (Burundi).
The intervention was focused on helping the community stop deforestation, erosion and silting of lakes, combined with irregular and insufficient rainfall, which greatly contributed, in hunger stricken Bugesera.
This has in the last five years changed. The area is considered to be the most fertile and productive in Rwanda.
This is not the case, because the former drought-stricken Bugesera has now become ‘Rwanda‘s bread basket’
One of the victims of the former Bugesera famine is Danicilla Mukakarangwa, a single mother of three children.
Like many hundreds of residents abandoned their homes in Bugesera district (about 40min drive east of Kigali) and crossed over to neighbouring Burundi – fleeing years of famine, hunger and poverty.
food security at the 2 Rwanda | Rwanda: food security at the center of Rwandas developmentOthers moved to urban centres around the country. Over the following years, the area became infamous after regular reports of people relocating in search of food.
The food security situation in Bugesera became so dire that the UN World Food Program set up a nutritional centre in 2004 to feed parents and their children numbering more than 40,000.
The WFP feeding centre – located in the worst affected Rilima Sector provided food supplements to malnourished residents.
After eight years of going through the traumatic experience, MuKakarangwa returned to Bugesera, and is now living a happy life with plenty of food stored in her granary and enough to have a mealwith his children twice a day – most of which she sends to local markets – even Kigali for sell.
The mayor of Bugesera, Louis Rwagaju says that deforestation was one of the major causes of the drought in the area in the past.
However, to avert the situation, the authorities sought an agroecological approach that would be both regionally adapted and culturally specific.
Thus, as one of the measures, the authorities started a reforestation programme in 2005, to reverse the trend.

food security at the 3 Rwanda | Rwanda: food security at the center of Rwandas development
The mayor of Bugesera- louis Rwagaju
“We didn’t take care of our natural resources. People destroyed the environment by cutting down trees and there was no mechanism in place to replace them.
Since the government took measures to fight against deforestation in 2005, the area began to receive regular rainfall and today, farmers are making regular harvests,” Rwagaju says.
Despite frequent rains since the implementation of reforestation programme, several streams and rivers traverse the district.
To tap into this great natural resource, the authorities also started an irrigation scheme to improve productivity. About 120 hectares of land in the two sectors of Rilima and Gashora, are under irrigation.
Rwagaju affirms that they considered the two sectors as they were the most hard-hit by the 2003 drought.
With the intervention of local government, farmers have been significantly facilitated to access fertilisers and better seeds besides offering advice on best farming practices.
“I have managed to transform my farming activities, with the advice of local authorities on how to use fertilisers for better production. We have been receiving selected seeds and organic fertilisers where we pay 50 percent while the other half is offset by the local authorities” says Leonard Mbarushimana, one of the farmers.
Another solution to ensure food security in the area was the construction of silos to store produce, through the support of a food security support project  known by its French-acronym PASAB (Projet d’Appui à la Sécurité Alimentaire au Bugesera)- this programme, run by the Catholic Church NGO Caritas, has played a vital role in shielding area residents from famine.
Farmers formed cooperative unions to make use of a government-constructed silo to store their produce. Once they delivered their produce, they received an official document that they would use to secure bank loans.
The food storage programme was first initiated in the Eastern Province. It was mandatory for every citizen in the province to stock a little produce in silos from their harvest.
The grain storage programme has considerably helped in fighting against hunger and reports indicate that agricultural yields tripled within a short time as villagers set up the cereal bank to store grain.
Today, the Rilima centre is no longer providing food for the hungry, instead it advises mothers and pregnant mothers on how to balance the diets of their children and more than 400 tonnes of crops are stocked in all sectors.
At least every cell has its own grain storage facility in addition to 16 big silos that the PASAB project put up in every sector.
This is because the district has applied modern agricultural interventions and maximising community leadership and participation, which have transformed it from what was previously known as ‘the poorest places in Rwanda‘ to one that has become a model for development.
Increasing production can come at the expense of further limiting the available land for agriculture, especially in light of the aggressive efforts to intensify agriculture.
Improved methods of environment management will be required to ensure that agricultural practice is sustainable.
Due to increased growth in food crops in most of the province, the government has invested in production of finished agricultural products, for example, in the southern province- a new cassava processing plant, funded by Rwanda Development Bank (BRD)has been constructed in Ruhango district.
The plant, worth Rwf5billion, has a capacity to process 250 tonnes of raw cassava and produce 60 tonnes of cassava flour on a daily basis. The factory is expected to boost economic activity.
According to Jack Kayonga, the BRD Managing Director, the state-of the-art facility will benefit both the residents and the country’s economy
“The factory will increase the residents’ incomes and provide market for the local cassava farmers,” Kayonga said “This is a step towards development and will enable Rwanda to compete in the regional market and reduce dependence on imported cassava products”
Agricultural farmers cooperative have been formed in country, replacing the associations of farmers.
These have contributed to the increase in food production at a large due to adapting new methods of land consolidation and growing a single crop with combined efforts of all cooperative members.
The achievements agricultural sector for the have been attained due the prioritization of food crops and increased production of vegetables and fruits have improved the nation’s food security.
Farmers say that this was due to the extensive use of fertilizers and quality seeds which mature faster and are more resistant to bad weather conditions.
“The farmers also attribute the successful agricultural production to the improved mechanisms of farming. The government has donated tractors to community to improve the farming methods, use of green houses and planting seed beds which are also monitored by community agronomists” says Ezekiel Niyigena, the chairman of CSC Ugama – an association of farmers in Muhanga district, southern province.


Rwanda Music : Inanga,Rwandas most important music instrument


Music is one of the cultural aspects that define any African culture. In the case of Rwandamusic is one of the things that you will visible see as a true definition of a mild and descent society.
Though Rwanda has different kinds of music today, tradition music still stands as a very essential aspect of the Rwandan culture and if you ever visited the country, you will be welcomed by the rhythms of drums, harps(inanga), musicbow (Umuduli ), violin-like instrument (iningiri) and a music box with acoustic strings on it (icyembe ) and definitely you will not  miss live dances and beautiful sounds of music from the traditional troops.
The Inanga
The Inanga is a traditional oval-shaped harp that is made out of wood with strings tied at the edges and one of the oldest traditional music instruments in Rwanda, which originates from the time of the Kingdoms.
In organology the inanga is known as a ‘trough-zither’, which gives an indication of the shape of the instrument, namely a flat soundboard (resonator) with slightly concave sides reminiscent of the shape of a trough or raft.
It varies from 75 to 115 cm in length and 25 to 30 cm in width. The soundboard itself is slightly smaller as there is a rim all around it.
InangaRwanda’s 1 Rwanda Music : Inanga,Rwandas most important music instrument
At the narrow ends the rim is much wider and has eight to twelve deep notches cut into each end to hold the strings in place. One striking feature is that not all the notches have a string, so that the number of strings is always smaller than the number of notches. The preference is for instruments with six to eight strings, and this group accounts for nearly 90% of all inanga.
The soundboard has two types of decoration: star-shaped or oval incisions, ‘the eyes of the inanga, the function of which is to distribute the sound, and burnt-in geometric motifs on the ends of the instrument. The strings of the inanga are made from natural fibres, and used to be made from animal gut.
The person who works the hides into clothes is responsible for producing strings of animal origin. Each instrument actually has a single continuous string, which is stretched from one end of the soundboard to the other and looped through the notches, resulting in several strings. The rest of the string is fastened to a wooden peg. A protective strip is sometimes placed between the strings and the rim of the soundboard to prevent the tightly stretched strings from getting damaged. Nowadays nylon or metal strings are also used.
The performer remains seated while he plays, resting the inanga vertically on his lap. Holding the instrument with the little finger of his left hand, he uses the other fingers of his left hand to pluck the top four strings and the fingers of his right hand to pluck the bottom four strings. The strings are plucked using the fingertips. Only open strings are used, hence one fixed note is produced for each string. One technique sometimes used, however, is to lightly touch the string at certain points and then pluck it to produce harmonics. Tapping on the soundboard with the fingernails adds to the rhythmic sound.
InangaRwanda’s 2 Rwanda Music : Inanga,Rwandas most important music instrument
The inanga is usually played solo and the performers sing their own songs-that are mostly about historical events, personal experiences or everyday incidents. The literature of lyrics used by the inanga player are not simple Kinyarwanda expression- they are mostly expressions (or words) which need to be interpreted in the view of the listener and sometimes have hidden meanings, that sometimes need to be researched by the composer.
Although not all members of the audience understood the Kinyarwanda lyrics, the musictranscends language and cultural differences and most times it is the sound of the strings and the movement of the body of the Inanga player that send the universal message to the viewers.
The inanga is also played during rituals and was played for the Kings in the palaces. It is mostly played by men, but in very rare cases- it may also be played by a woman.
The range of the instrument is usually pentatonic, which means that not all of the six to nine strings are used. Tuning is carried out by tightening the string slightly (higher notes) or loosening it (lower notes).
The Inanga, which is a lyre-like string instrument, is played among other instruments such as ingoma, ikembe, iningiri, umuduri in the Ikinamba dance- which is accompanied by instruments. This dance is also arguably the most exalted musical tradition in Rwanda that tells the stories of heroes and kings of Rwanda,
The Inanga is produce very gentle music sound from the strings. If you like to imagine, it can be called the ‘Traditional guitar’ of Rwandan music. When it is played in the mix of traditional dancers and drums, it adds grace and percussive emphasis to the traditional music as the dancers extend their arms in the air and stomping feet.
InangaRwanda’s 3 Rwanda Music : Inanga,Rwandas most important music instrument
This instrument is not like any kind of instrument ofmusic in Rwanda, it was affiliated to the Kings and queens. The members of the kingdoms had special days in which they would travel to the King’s Palace in Nyanzadistrict (southern province) to play for the king.
The inanga, which is a lyre-like string instrument, has produced several Rwanda’s finest known performers internationally, such as Sentore Masamba (RIP), Maitre de Rujindiri, Thomas Kirusu (RIP), Sebatunzi, Sophie Nzayisenga (daughter of Thomas Kirusu), Victor Kabarira, Daniel Ngarukiye, Jules Sentore, and Emmanuel Habumuremyi
Vianney Mushabizi, 62, is one of the elderly traditional harp (Inanga) players today. He has played with famous traditional composers and musicians like Thomas Kirusu and was the one who trained Kirusu’s daughter Sophie –who is currently Rwanda’s renowned female Inanga player. He narrates that essence of Rwandan music was for communal purposes such as entertaining the king, and during the communal events- such as weddings and harvest seasons when the community had to share a brew from the harvest.
Mushabizi says that Rwandan music has come to change through the years and some of these aspects have been lost along the way, however, he and many other traditional musicians are doing their best to pass on the legacy to the young generation.
“Rwandan traditional music is more than just making money. It is an art that was valued by the society and required more commitment and practice for an individual. Today, things have changed and it is more commercialized unlike in the past when it was a time for community to share its values” he says.
Apparently, Mushabizi has is involved in a training program for youthful traditional artists and has groomed his own siblings to carry on his legacy in the years to come. “I am proud to be teaching others youths, and even my children who are now learning to play traditional music, which is the only way to pass on the legacy of Rwandan music” he says.
One of the talents trained by Mushabizi, is Sophie Nzayisenga. At the age of six, Sophie started playing Inanga. She was also trained by her father, the late Thomas Kiroso, who was a very famous Rwandan Inanga player.
“We were many children at home and our father tried to teach each one of us but I had more interest,” Nzayisenga narrates. “One of the most memorable moments was seeing my father and his siblings playing Inanga. There was nothing that could out stand the rhythm of the Inanga and the dances. These were my greatest joys.”
Every time her father put down his Inanga, Nzayisenga would reach out for it and begin playing with the strings. The instrument was traditionally played solely by men, but after sensing Nzayisenga’s passion, her father offered to teach her.
InangaRwanda’s 4 Rwanda Music : Inanga,Rwandas most important music instrument
By the age of eight, Nzayisenga was participating in various musical competitions. Her first ever foreign musical competition was at the 1989 Children Festival held in Bulgaria; since then she has gone on to appear in several competitions, including the Lake Of Stars festival held in Malawi in January 2012. “Other participants in these festivals acknowledge my style of performance and are usually thrilled with the rhythm the Inanga produces,” says Nzayisenga.
But the fact that Nzayisenga played a man’s instrument continued to engender controversy back home. “At the age of eighteen, I started feeling that it was not the right for me to play a man’s instrument,” she says. “My peers always discouraged me into playing Inanga because they thought I was not classy. But when I looked at the benefits, I overcame my fears and discouragement from other people and fully played the instrument.”
Today, Nzayisenga is a mother and says that she is greatly supported by her husband and her two children. “My daughter even asked me for a smaller Inanga since mine was so big. She always plays along every time I’m playing the instrument at home.”
Moreover, just like her father, Nzayisenga is passing on the tradition of playing Inanga by training young children at the Kigali Music School. The school, which was founded by Baptist missionary Marlene Lee, first opened its doors in 2000 with the aim of teaching traditional dance and instruments such as drums, Inanga, Ikembe to vulnerable children.
Nzayisenga came to the school seven years ago with the intention of learning how to play other musical instruments But after the school’s founders unearthed Nzayisenga’s Inanga talent, they enquired whether she would be willing to teach students that instrument.
“I didn’t care even if they had said that I do it as a volunteer. I would not have minded. I’m thrilled when the youth approach me to teach them how to play Inanga. With the dedicated time and trainings I have given several people, I’m happy that now we have more great Inanga players,” she explains. “The fact that there were only a few people playing Inanga, an instrument of our heritage, was so disappointing. It felt like our culture was dying out while we were embracing foreign culture. It was because of this that I decided to teach and train the young people.”
The main mission and vision of the school is to produce professional musicians with the knowledge of how to blend with the different musical instruments. For those students who can afford to pay, the school costs Rwf20,000 for three months. Otherwise free training is available.
Music trainings are expensive but in order to raise Rwandan music stars a lot needs to be sacrificed,” says Aimable Nsabayesu, the school’s director. “Most of our students here are from poor families and some are orphans who can’t afford to pay for the trainings. But since most of them are yearning to learn how to play musical instruments, we train them.”
The school trains children from the age of five because at that age, their hands are mature enough to play the instruments. Even if a child doesn’t know how to read and write we train them.
Music is a language that can be understood by everyone. It’s important to learn music at a tender age. The greatest musicians and legends learn music at a tender age” Nsabayesu says.


Rwanda Music : Rwandas artists eying international scene


Rwandan modern music currently hasn’t fully made it on the international scene though it’s spreading especially in the East African region and more parts of Africa. Rwandan  music which comprises basically of hip-hop, reggae, afro-bit ,R& B and dance hall, plays in night clubs of Uganda, Kenya, south Africa and arguably the other parts of East Africa, Burundi inclusive.
Collaborations with famous East African Artists have seen Rwandan upcoming songsters shine. Renowned collaborations include, Dream Boys collaboration with Uganda’s renowned Eddie Kenzo, Urban Boys collabo with Uganda’s Jackie Chanduri, Miss Shannel’s collabo with Necessary noise’s Waire , Rafiki with Uganda’s Chameleon, to mention but a few.
Because Rwanda lacks professional producers and many studio options, artists have resorted to recording with famous producers like Uganda’s Washington, which makes Rwandan music sell, across borders.
As some Rwandan artists copy songs and rhythms from famous Western musicians, other Rwandanartists have taken talent to another level through releasing hit by hit of unique songs. The likes of Jean Paul SamputuTom Close, and Miss Shannel have made it to the international scene.
Recently, ministry of culture and sports launched an initiative to support Rwandan artists to perform abroad, something that has promoted Rwandan music to the international scene. However, the initiative still lacks promoters to market the local artists abroad and fund the transport costs.
Meanwhile, a few countries like Uganda have earned through such an initiative to promote and market artists abroad and it has ripped handsomely.
Despite a few challenges, Rwandan music booms all over The East African Region. There is indeed hope for Rwanda to reach great heights via going international in the music realm, sky is the limit.


With the increasing population of about 12million people in Rwanda and since nearly 90 percent of the population relies on subsistence agriculture and farmers are dependent on rain for good harvests, food security has become a major concern for the government of Rwanda, thus the agricultural sector has been given a high priority in the government’s planning for development.

Though food crops hold a very dominant position in Rwandan agriculture, Rwanda is among the countries with chronic food deficiencies as well as low incomes.
It is within this framework that Rwanda joined the rest of the world to commit itself to reduce the malnourished population as stipulated by the commitments made during the World Food Summit held in Rome in 1996.
food security at the 1 Rwanda | Rwanda: food security at the center of Rwandas developmentOne of the areas affected with drought was Bugesera District in the Eastern province of Rwanda, the land was so dry that it could barely produced any crops, this lead the community to be poverty stricken and this called for intervention from the government of Rwanda and the USAID to help the community secure food.
Besides famine, the area frequently reported some of the country’s most extreme poverty. However, after some well calculated interventions, the district is gradually moving towards food sufficiency
In 2009, the African Development Bank committed $47m (estimated Rwf 27billion) in order to improve falling agricultural output and lengthy droughts which affected almost a million people living in the Bugesera (Rwanda) and Kirundo (Burundi).
The intervention was focused on helping the community stop deforestation, erosion and silting of lakes, combined with irregular and insufficient rainfall, which greatly contributed, in hunger stricken Bugesera.
This has in the last five years changed. The area is considered to be the most fertile and productive in Rwanda.
This is not the case, because the former drought-stricken Bugesera has now become ‘Rwanda‘s bread basket’

One of the victims of the former Bugesera famine is Danicilla Mukakarangwa, a single mother of three children.
Like many hundreds of residents abandoned their homes in Bugesera district (about 40min drive east of Kigali) and crossed over to neighbouring Burundi – fleeing years of famine, hunger and poverty.
food security at the 2 Rwanda | Rwanda: food security at the center of Rwandas developmentOthers moved to urban centres around the country. Over the following years, the area became infamous after regular reports of people relocating in search of food.
The food security situation in Bugesera became so dire that the UN World Food Program set up a nutritional centre in 2004 to feed parents and their children numbering more than 40,000.

The WFP feeding centre – located in the worst affected Rilima Sector provided food supplements to malnourished residents.
After eight years of going through the traumatic experience, MuKakarangwa returned to Bugesera, and is now living a happy life with plenty of food stored in her granary and enough to have a meal with his children twice a day – most of which she sends to local markets – even Kigali for sell.

The mayor of Bugesera, Louis Rwagaju says that deforestation was one of the major causes of the drought in the area in the past.
However, to avert the situation, the authorities sought an agroecological approach that would be both regionally adapted and culturally specific.
Thus, as one of the measures, the authorities started a reforestation programme in 2005, to reverse the trend.

The mayor of Bugesera- louis Rwagaju
“We didn’t take care of our natural resources. People destroyed the environment by cutting down trees and there was no mechanism in place to replace them.
Since the government took measures to fight against deforestation in 2005, the area began to receive regular rainfall and today, farmers are making regular harvests,” Rwagaju says.
Despite frequent rains since the implementation of reforestation programme, several streams and rivers traverse the district.
To tap into this great natural resource, the authorities also started an irrigation scheme to improve productivity. About 120 hectares of land in the two sectors of Rilima and Gashora, are under irrigation.
Rwagaju affirms that they considered the two sectors as they were the most hard-hit by the 2003 drought.
With the intervention of local government, farmers have been significantly facilitated to access fertilisers and better seeds besides offering advice on best farming practices.

food security at the 3 Rwanda | Rwanda: food security at the center of Rwandas development“I have managed to transform my farming activities, with the advice of local authorities on how to use fertilisers for better production. We have been receiving selected seeds and organic fertilisers where we pay 50 percent while the other half is offset by the local authorities” says Leonard Mbarushimana, one of the farmers.
Another solution to ensure food security in the area was the construction of silos to store produce, through the support of a food security support project  known by its French-acronym PASAB (Projet d’Appui à la Sécurité Alimentaire au Bugesera)- this programme, run by the Catholic Church NGO Caritas, has played a vital role in shielding area residents from famine.

Farmers formed cooperative unions to make use of a government-constructed silo to store their produce. Once they delivered their produce, they received an official document that they would use to secure bank loans.
The food storage programme was first initiated in the Eastern Province. It was mandatory for every citizen in the province to stock a little produce in silos from their harvest.
The grain storage programme has considerably helped in fighting against hunger and reports indicate that agricultural yields tripled within a short time as villagers set up the cereal bank to store grain.
Today, the Rilima centre is no longer providing food for the hungry, instead it advises mothers and pregnant mothers on how to balance the diets of their children and more than 400 tonnes of crops are stocked in all sectors.
At least every cell has its own grain storage facility in addition to 16 big silos that the PASAB project put up in every sector.
This is because the district has applied modern agricultural interventions and maximising community leadership and participation, which have transformed it from what was previously known as ‘the poorest places in Rwanda‘ to one that has become a model for development.
Increasing production can come at the expense of further limiting the available land for agriculture, especially in light of the aggressive efforts to intensify agriculture.
Improved methods of environment management will be required to ensure that agricultural practice is sustainable.
Due to increased growth in food crops in most of the province, the government has invested in production of finished agricultural products, for example, in the southern province- a new cassava processing plant, funded by Rwanda Development Bank (BRD)has been constructed in Ruhango district.
The plant, worth Rwf5billion, has a capacity to process 250 tonnes of raw cassava and produce 60 tonnes of cassava flour on a daily basis. The factory is expected to boost economic activity.

According to Jack Kayonga, the BRD Managing Director, the state-of the-art facility will benefit both the residents and the country’s economy
“The factory will increase the residents’ incomes and provide market for the local cassava farmers,” Kayonga said “This is a step towards development and will enable Rwanda to compete in the regional market and reduce dependence on imported cassava products”

Agricultural farmers cooperative have been formed in country, replacing the associations of farmers.
These have contributed to the increase in food production at a large due to adapting new methods of land consolidation and growing a single crop with combined efforts of all cooperative members.
The achievements agricultural sector for the have been attained due the prioritization of food crops and increased production of vegetables and fruits have improved the nation’s food security.
Farmers say that this was due to the extensive use of fertilizers and quality seeds which mature faster and are more resistant to bad weather conditions.
“The farmers also attribute the successful agricultural production to the improved mechanisms of farming. The government has donated tractors to community to improve the farming methods, use of green houses and planting seed beds which are also monitored by community agronomists” says Ezekiel Niyigena, the chairman of CSC Ugama – an association of farmers in Muhanga district, southern province.



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