Bugesera | 19/09/2025 – The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) celebrated its 3rd graduation ceremony on September 19, 2025, sending forth 83 (42 male and 41 females) graduates poised to help answer the nation call: addressing food security through conservation agriculture.
The Class of 2025 graduated with RICA’s Bachelor of Sciences in Conservation Agriculture degree in four specializations: Crop Production Systems, Animal Production Systems, Food Processing Systems, and Irrigation and Mechanization Systems.
With this third graduation, RICA has now produced a total of 239 professionals trained in conservation agriculture and entrepreneurship, all poised to support Rwanda’s agricultural development initiatives. These graduates are equipped to contribute to Rwanda’s agricultural transformation and development initiatives.
Conservation Agriculture: The Path Forward
The Prime Minister, Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva, who was the Guest of Honor, congratulated the graduates and commended RICA’s faculty and staff for their commitment to developing future agricultural leaders. He underscored the government’s dedication to investing in agriculture to achieve a 50% increase in the productivity of key food crops, as outlined in the National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) and in the Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture (PSTA5), advocating for a nationwide increase in the adoption of Conservation Agriculture (CA).
With its focus on improving soil health and productivity, CA is considered vital for achieving environmental sustainability, farm efficiency, and food security in Rwanda. To this end, the PM emphasized the center stage role RICA graduates will play in achieving this goal through their expertise in conservation agriculture. “As experts in conservation agriculture, you are well-positioned to drive this transformation by applying modern conservation practices and agri-tech innovations” – Prime Minister told RICA graduates.
The Prime Minister further called on them to view their degrees as instruments for transformative change within their communities. “True success is not measured by how far you go alone, but by how many you lift along the way,” he stated, encouraging them to embrace humility, confidence, and a spirit of service, while upholding integrity and responsibility as they embark on careers dedicated to a more prosperous and resilient Rwanda.
The same call for service was echoed by Arahirwa Ineza Kevin, a Crop Production Systems graduate. Kevin reminded his peers that agriculture is not just about producing food but about caring for the land, using science, technology, and creativity to solve real-world problems. “And it is about community because the true value of knowledge lies in how we use it to uplift others” – Kevin added, stating that they are graduating not only with degrees but with a mission to transform agriculture in Rwanda, in Africa, and beyond.
