On
31 August, the AFS Kigali delegation travelled to Huye for an inspiring field visit focused on one of Rwanda’s most important development assets: its agricultural research and innovation ecosystem.
The visit provided an opportunity to experience first-hand how scientific research, technology, conservation, and farmer-focused innovation are contributing to the transformation of Rwanda’s agricultural sector.
The visit demonstrated a powerful connection between research institutions and the realities faced by farmers — from conserving valuable genetic resources to developing improved planting materials, strengthening soil fertility, and increasing the productivity and resilience of agricultural systems.
RAB Rubona Station: history, infrastructure and challenges
Established in 1935 in Rwanda’s Southern Province (formerly Butare), RAB Rubona Station is the country’s oldest agricultural research station and the historic foundation of Rwanda’s National Agricultural Research System. Initially created during the Belgian colonial period as the Institut National pour l'Étude Agronomique du Congo (INEAC), Rubona became a centre for research on food crops, soils and livestock adapted to the highland agroecosystems of Central Africa. Following Rwanda’s independence, the station evolved through successive national research institutions before becoming a flagship centre of the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) in 2011. Over the decades, Rubona has played a pivotal role in developing improved varieties of beans, maize, cassava, sweet potato and potato, while conserving indigenous crop genetic resources and supporting farmer-oriented agricultural innovation.Today, Rubona Station comprises extensive experimental fields, crop breeding and seed multiplication facilities, soil and plant laboratories, greenhouses, irrigation infrastructure, livestock research units, offices, conference and training facilities, and one of Rwanda’s principal national genebank collections for agricultural biodiversity. The station hosts multidisciplinary teams of breeders, agronomists, soil scientists, plant pathologists, entomologists, livestock specialists, laboratory technicians and extension-oriented researchers who collaborate closely with universities and international partners such as CGIAR centres. The BioCap/COECB [Rwanda Biotech Capacity Building (BioCap) / Centre of Excellence for Crop Biotechnology] investment is a major current infrastructure development.Launched in December 2025, it goes beyond conducting individual crop trials: it is intended to build permanent national biotechnology capacity at Rubona. Particularly significant is the planned Centre of Excellence for Crop Biotechnology (COECB). CIP (International Potato Center) and RAB are currently developing the facility at Rubona, for biotechnology, genome editing and capacity building, particularly for potato and cassava. It is supported by a $15 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is part of this international initiative. Despite its strategic importance, Rubona faces significant challenges including ageing laboratory and irrigation infrastructure, limited long-term funding for research maintenance, shortages of advanced analytical equipment, the need to attract and retain highly qualified scientists, and increasing pressure to develop climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive innovations that respond to Rwanda’s rapidly evolving agrifood system.
Discovering Rwanda’s Agricultural Research Ecosystem
At RAB Rubona Station, participants explored a remarkable collection of more than 100 conserved banana varieties. The collection illustrates the importance of agricultural biodiversity and the role of research institutions in protecting genetic resources that can support future breeding, adaptation, and food security.
The visit also introduced participants to advanced technologies supporting early-generation seed production and germplasm conservation across a diverse range of crops, including: Cassava, Sweet potato, Banana, Coffee, Passion fruit and Tree tomato.Seeing these systems in practice offered a valuable perspective on the science behind the crops that sustain rural livelihoods. Conservation is not simply about preserving varieties for the future; it is also about maintaining the genetic diversity needed to respond to emerging challenges such as climate change, pests, diseases, and changing market demands.
From Innovation to the Farmer
A particularly important aspect of the visit was learning about rapid cassava seed multiplication and customized soil-fertility management systems.
These innovations demonstrate how agricultural research can be translated into practical solutions. Producing quality planting material more rapidly can help farmers access improved varieties, while soil-fertility approaches adapted to specific conditions can support more efficient use of nutrients and improve productivity.
Together, these technologies illustrate a broader principle: agricultural transformation requires more than introducing a new crop or technology. It requires sustained investment in research, experimentation, conservation, knowledge transfer, and systems that allow innovations to reach farmers at scale. The experience at Rubona showed how this long-term investment can contribute to higher productivity, greater resilience, and scalable solutions for farmers.
Advancing research and development of Bambara groundnut
The Society for Underutilized Legumes (SUL), which emerged from IITA's Genetic Resources Center and collaborates closely with IITA-CGIAR, is expanding research on Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) and other underutilized legumes into East Africa. Recent research includes collaboration with scientists from the University of Rwanda, complementing wider IITA work on Bambara groundnut genetic resources, breeding, nutrition, climate resilience and value addition. The Bambara groundnut (BGN), once labeled an orphan crop, has now assumed the status of an
important underutilized nutritious, drought-resistant legume crop, and is now positioned as a promising future crop that is serving a varied choice of culinary purposes, including local delicacies, and more recently, plant-protein-based milk alternatives. Despite the numerous benefits of BGN, processing its seeds into valuable food products generates wastes (such as husks, shells, haulms, and offal), which are often disposed of carelessly into the environment, thereby creating environmental hazards.With this growing environmental challenge, comes the growing interest in adding value to the wastes generated from BGN and converting them into products that are useful for industrial purposes, as well as food and feed, and researchers from Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa are unlocking new economic and environmental opportunities and exploring potential value-added products from Bambara groundnut waste, transforming what was once discarded material into valuable resources that support sustainable growth across Africa’s food systems.
Picture: Dr Adegboyega Taofeek T [Kneeling] of the Society of Undertutilised Legumes (IITA) and Dr Adeyemo Rasheed O. [Standing] on the Bambara groundnut field at the University of Rwanda, Huye Campus. The field trial was conducted with the support of Lecturers and Colleagues from the University of Rwanda.
Livestock Innovation Meets Living Heritage
The journey continued at Songa RAB Station, where agricultural innovation took on a different dimension through livestock.
Launched on August 30, 2024, the Rwanda Dairy Development Project – Phase 2 (RDDP 2) , funded by IFAD and implemented by RAB,will benefit 175,000 dairy farmers nationwide. The revitalization of the Songa Sement Production Centre is part of a broader $125 million USD initiative aimed at transforming the dairy sector over the next five years. Between $8 million and $10 million of the $125 million allocated for RDDP 2 will go directly into establishing and operationalizing the upgraded semen production centre. It aims to improve the income, nutrition and resilience of rural households by creating a more inclusive, climate-resilient, digitalized and competitive dairy sector, targeting around 175,000 rural households. Of particular relevance to RAB Songa Station, RDDP-2 is upgrading the Songa Semen Production Centre into a modern hub for bovine genetic improvement, with:- technologies for semen and embryo production,
- in-vitro fertilization (IVF),
- artificial insemination and embryo transfer,
- alongside improved forage production,
- dairy performance recording and specialized training
30 high-quality bulls are already at Songa, with a longer-term target of 60. Approximately US$8–10 million is expected to be invested directly in establishing and operationalizing the upgraded Songa centre, positioning the station as an important national centre for dairy breeding, genetics and farmer/veterinarian capacity development
Participants discovered modern approaches to livestock breeding and semen collection, gaining insight into how reproductive technologies and improved genetics can contribute to greater livestock productivity.
At the same time, the station offered an encounter with an important part of Rwanda’s cultural heritage: the iconic Inyambo royal cattle.The contrast — and connection — between advanced breeding technologies and these culturally significant cattle provided a powerful illustration of how innovation and heritage can coexist. Rwanda’s livestock sector is not only about improving production; it is also about preserving and valuing traditions that form part of the country’s identity.The Inyambo therefore represents more than a livestock breed. They offered a living connection between Rwanda’s past and its agricultural future.
Learning Through Experience
For the AFS Kigali delegation, which included a GFAiR representative, the field visit was an opportunity to see agricultural research not as an abstract scientific process, but as a living ecosystem involving researchers, genetic resources, technologies, farmers, institutions, and cultural heritage.
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