Mushroom technology transforms lives in Rwanda

Suzanne Nikuze has come a long way. From a modest experiment in her backyard in Gasabo district in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, to a thriving agribusiness that is transforming lives, promoting sustainable agriculture and combating malnutrition, Nikuze's curiosity about mushroom farming has reaped rich dividends.

- By VICTOR RABALLA

After being trained at the China-Rwanda Agriculture Technology Demonstration Centre in 2018, Nikuze founded a company to train local farmers - mostly women - to grow mushrooms, a lucrative crop in the country.

"Other than growing mushrooms, I chose to use my farm to train women to embrace mushroom farming as a path to self-reliance," she said.

Mushroom cultivation, once viewed with scepticism, is today a mainstream business that is proving to be an economical and environmentally friendly path to poverty alleviation in Rwanda.

A scientific exchange programme on the promotion of Juncao technology between Rwandan experts and Chinese experts at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University launched in 2006 following a bilateral agreement made at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has since expanded into a nationwide movement.