AgriBusiness Forum in Rwanda

6 - 10 October. The AgriBusiness Forum is the largest pan-African AgriBusiness Forum held on African soil annually which aims at strengthening the Agri-Food sector in Africa, by encouraging partnerships, exchanging best practices and attracting investments. It is the right platform to discuss and present successful projects and business models. This year, the Forum focused on  "The Agri-Food Sector: A Catalyst for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Africa”.

Agnes Kalibata, Minister of Agriculture and animal resources qualified the Agribusiness Forum as "an opportunity for us to unlock the potential of agriculture in Africa and Rwanda". She called Rwanda's private sector to join hands with international partners in this venture. Among the speakers were  Monty Jones (Special Adviser to Sierra Leone President & Former ED of FARA recipient of
the World Food Prize, Sierra Leone) and Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Secretary – Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Ghana

The governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was presented with an award for “Innovative Agricultural Policy and Practice for Inclusive AgriBusiness Development in Africa”. He started the Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Programme (O’REAP) to train youth in farming. The administration is providing the necessary infrastructure and support for farmers with inputs, which requires supplying them with inputs such as improved seedlings, fertiliser and fumigants among others; giving them hundreds of thousand of already prepared hectares of land.

A total of 610 O’YES Cadets were trained last year at the O’REAP Youth Academy Farm Centres located across the nine Federal Constituencies in the state, with selected participants at 20 per Local Government and 10 from Ife East Area Office.

This year’s edition of the O’REAP Youth Academy, witnessed a significant rise in the number of youth participants, each of the 332 wards in the state is fairly represented with three O’YES Cadets per ward, accounting for 996 Cadets to be trained in modern agriculture at the nine training centres of the O’REAP Youth Academy.

The commitment of the governor to raise agriculture from subsistence to mechanised farming is one of the major reasons for sending 40 youths to Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Extracts from the presentations:

Workshop B – Agribusiness incubation, an instrumental tool to unleash the potential of African agriculture and economic transformation

	Alex Ariho Facility Coordinator UniBRAIN Ghana DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION

	Henry Bwisa Professor of Entrepreneurship - JKUAT Chairman, Investment Promotion Centre Kenya DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
	Somasundararam SM. Karuppanchetty Chief Executive Officer ABI-ICRISAT India DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION

Session II – How to prepare smallholder farmers for commercial partnerships: strategies to enhance smallholders farmer incomes and market access

Raf Somers Co-Manager of Seeds & Agricultural Development Program Belgian Development Agency Rwanda DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION

Session III – Agro-industries development  promotion in the East AfricaCommunity: a pathway for inclusive market access

Fiona Lukwago Assistant Director Kilimo Trust E. Africa Uganda DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION

Moses Marwa Principal Agricultural Economist East African Community Tanzania DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION

Session IV – Facilitating access to Finance in the agribusinessPART I: The role of commercial financing

Sylvia Ngare Advisor to the CEO Centum Kenya DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION

	Eric Kaleja Resident Representative KfW/DEG Kenya DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
	Daniel Muhimuzi Country Manager Oikocredit Rwanda DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION

Special Session - EMRC-Rabobank Project Incubator Award

	Bukola Adeshina A & Shine International Ltd Nigeria DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
	Cathy Mbuyi Tshiswaka Optifood Production Congo - DRC DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
	Peace Byandusya Mushroom Training & Resource Centre Uganda DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
	Jean Claude Ruzibiza - Award winner Rwanda Best Rwanda Please contact pmm@emrc.be to receive presentation by email