{The Rwandan ambassador in US, Mathilde Mukantabana has said that Rwandans are not left behind agricultural development and observed that the country is in a drive of making agriculture an attractive business for young entrepreneurs.}
Ambassador Mukantabana noted this as she attended yesterday the 2016 Global Food Symposium, a Chicago Council event, which took place in Washington, DC at the Ronald Reagan Building.
As more people move into the cities, with 66% of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2050, the demand for food is also expected to be higher than ever. Ambassador Mukantabana participated on the panel Growing Food for Growing Cities: Transforming food systems in an urbanizing world.
“Up to 90 percent of food consumption in low-income countries comes from domestic sources in rural areas. To supply increased volumes of food demanded by urban consumers, supply chains must lengthen geographically, increasing the potential to reach farmers in more and more distant areas,” said Thomas Reardon, a professor of Agricultural, food, and resource economics.
Reacting on the question of connectivity between the cities and the rural areas in Rwanda, Ambassador Mukantabana shed some light on the efforts that the government has undertaken to ensure that there is a flow of movement, and that no Rwandan, even in the remote areas, is left behind in agricultural development.
“We are embarking on a road to build secondary cities. 35% of the population of Rwanda will be in these cities. Being able to link them is going to be a key. This will allow for more employability across cities and access to rural areas,” said Ambassador Mukantabana.
Ambassador Mukantabana also spoke about the particularity of Rwanda in ensuring that Rwanda is increasingly food secure. Various government program and policies cover a wide variety of sectors, but have a significant and direct impact on the agriculture sector.
“Decentralization of power was especially intended to benefit the Rwandan population in the villages. Imihigo social contracts have also allowed citizens to set goals for what is going to be achieved using resources from the government and the private sector,” said Ambassador Mukantabana.
Ambassador Mukantabana was also asked to comment on how the government is ensuring that women are not left behind in the agriculture sector, to which she responded that “when it comes to agriculture, gender laws and the rights of women have allowed women to be equal beneficiaries to land ownership as their male counterparts, thus ensuring that they are not left behind in the development.”
In many countries being affected by mass migration to the cities and a decline in food production, gender representation is a burden. However, in Rwanda, a country that is globally known as a heaven for the woman, this is not an issue that will prevent economic progress in the agriculture sector.
In her concluding remarks, Ambassador Mukantabana commented on the youth, another demographic of the population that is not to be overlooked in the fight against hunger and the drive towards food security in Rwanda.
“In Rwanda, we are now investing in making the agriculture sector an attractive and profitable business opportunity for our young entrepreneurs. They are bringing in new energy and advanced technology that will further diversify our crops and ensure quality production in the future of our agriculture sector.” said Ambassador Mukantabana.
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