Rwanda has been investing in facilitating the young entrepreneurs to enter modern farming and agribusiness including climate resilient programmes to modernize farming. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and
Animal Resources (MINAGRI) has heavily invested in integrating youth into the sector to energize the course
along agriculture modernization.
The importance of youth empowerment is recognized in the Forth Strategic Plan for AgricultureTransformation (PSTA4) under skills development for agriculture value chain actors, which focus on support and empowerment of rural value chain actors to profitably engage in farm and off farm activities.
Therefore, MINAGRI received through The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) a grant to support young entrepreneurs in implementing climate Resilient Agriculture Projects. This Fund will improve young women and men farmers’ livelihoods and climate Resilience through the adoption of agro-ecological
production technologies in the selected drought and landslide prone areas of the country such as Kayonza, Bugesera and Nyagatare in Eastern Province and Rulindo & Gakenke in Northern Province.Meet one of MINAGRI UNDP grant beneficiaries named Kubwayo Kanakuze Marie Faustine Hosiane, who is
young woman Agripreuner, she is 24-year-old, and lives in Gakenke district, Rusasa sector, Rurambi cell. Her The project is sugarcane farming, and juice production from sugarcane, she has become successful upon receiving United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) through MINAGRI.
“After graduating from secondary school in 2017, I did not apply for a job rather I chose to start sugarcane farming in a small surface area equal to ½ Ha. I learnt from my parent on how to farm sugarcane, and my project started with the cost of production equals 200,000 rwf and benefit per season equals 100,000rwf and 5employees.” Kanakuze said After receiving the grant from UNDP through MINAGRI, it helped me to expand area from 1/2ha to 1 ½Ha and
purchased the machine used for extraction of juice in sugarcane and to increase employees from 5 to 8, and I am expecting to get 500,000Rfw per season if it goes well despite covid 19 that destroyed many businesses. Grant objectives The received grant intends to enhance sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Food Security. Proper utilization of the grant will increase empowerment for young men and women who are willing to contribute to
the transformation of the agriculture sector while increasing their livelihoods and creating green jobs as well. Young people usually face challenges in the process of accessing finance from financial institutions and these include, having no banking history, lack of collateral security, raising their own contribution, these are some preconditions for the viable business plan to access finance.Therefore, given the receipt of the UNDP grant to support young men and women with viable agribusiness projects one has to bear in mind the above mentioned challenges. The grant will support agribusiness projects
which are financially viable. A focus will be given to projects which are in the value chain of sector local economic potentials as well as those engaged in high value crops, emphasis given to those having climate resilient components embedded in.

Kubwayo Kanakuze Marie Faustine Hosiane to sensitize other youth to venture in agribusiness as one the ways
of transforming and lifting up their livelihoods.
From RYAF COMMUNICATION Team