Summer 2020 Experiential Learning: Exploring Agricultural Opportunities in Rwanda

Kaitlyn Waller Author

05/12/2021 Added

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Summer 2020 Experiential Learning: Solving Grand Challenges in Rwanda

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[00:00:00.280]Dear CUSP and RICA students,
[00:00:03.039]greetings from Rwanda.
[00:00:04.570]My names are Gerardine Mukeshimana
[00:00:06.747]and I'm the Minister of Agriculture
[00:00:08.440]and Animal Resources of Rwanda.
[00:00:11.000]I wish to extend warm congratulations to you
[00:00:15.360]for the hard work
[00:00:17.140]during this exceptionally challenging year.
[00:00:20.230]As our scholars,
[00:00:22.157]your education is part
[00:00:23.770]of the long-term capacity building plan
[00:00:27.150]for the Rwanda's agriculture sector development.
[00:00:31.580]Given the current Africa development agenda
[00:00:35.000]where the Africa agribusiness
[00:00:37.910]is planned to be a trillion dollar industry,
[00:00:41.610]I really want to encourage you
[00:00:43.920]to take advantage of this time in school
[00:00:47.410]and learn as much as you can.
[00:00:49.840]At MINAGRI, we are already excited
[00:00:53.004]to witness the great work currently being done
[00:00:56.910]by recent CUSP graduates who are already in Rwanda.
[00:01:02.010]They are making a difference in lives of Rwandans
[00:01:04.786]who are already harvesting the fruits of this education.
[00:01:10.790]For CUSP and RICA scholars yet to graduate,
[00:01:14.560]note that those of us in agriculture and food sectors
[00:01:20.310]are following your progress very closely.
[00:01:25.570]Rwanda looks toward your graduation,
[00:01:29.620]as we are eager to work with you
[00:01:31.740]to impact positively our future together.
[00:01:36.380]Thank you for your contribution
[00:01:38.700]and best wishes for your continued success.
[00:01:43.150]Thank you.
[00:01:44.246](upbeat music)
[00:01:51.670]Hello, everyone
[00:01:52.590]and thank you so much for watching this video.
[00:01:55.080]My name is Shema Yahya, a second year student
[00:01:57.870]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln
[00:02:00.350]and this video will highlight
[00:02:02.484]our scholars experiential learning from 2020.
[00:02:06.260]You will hear from my colleagues about the work
[00:02:07.912]that we accomplished since last summer
[00:02:10.440]and as well learn about future opportunities
[00:02:13.040]for collaborations between RICA and CUSP.
[00:02:16.810]We're proud to showcase the achievement of CUSP
[00:02:19.770]and RICA scholars
[00:02:20.703]and continue to facilitate the connection
[00:02:23.340]between our two campuses.
[00:02:25.900]I hope that their work will inspire you
[00:02:29.880]as we all strive to solve Rwanda's grand challenge.
[00:02:33.740]Through this class, we have an opportunity
[00:02:35.590]to walk through all of the drivers of change
[00:02:38.020]that can really affect our country
[00:02:39.500]within this coming generation from 2020 to 2050.
[00:02:44.900]And as a young leader, as a young future leader,
[00:02:48.172]I think it's very important to make decisions
[00:02:50.100]according to these drivers of change,
[00:02:52.360]to make sure that we have sustainability in our systems
[00:02:55.420]and to make sure that we make solutions
[00:02:58.620]that can really impact diverse
[00:03:00.930]and complex issues around the country.
[00:03:05.140]So, this class was really an eye opener
[00:03:09.340]when it comes to different drivers of change
[00:03:12.100]from education to technology
[00:03:14.140]and we as the young people who are gonna be the drivers
[00:03:16.960]of the future generation,
[00:03:19.040]we really want to make sure
[00:03:20.393]that we create these sustainable systems
[00:03:22.730]that are gonna really affect us
[00:03:25.430]and the entire continent of Africa.
[00:03:26.908](upbeat music)
[00:03:30.446]Well, my name is Carrie Horazeck.
[00:03:32.310]I'm Christine Haney Douglass.
[00:03:33.770]And we were the instructors for Rwanda 2035:
[00:03:36.920]Innovating Solutions for the Grand Challenges Ahead.
[00:03:39.720]When the students found out
[00:03:40.620]that they weren't going to have the opportunity
[00:03:42.180]to go back to Rwanda this summer,
[00:03:44.110]our primary goal was to figure out
[00:03:45.880]how to turn that disruption into an opportunity
[00:03:49.300]which we did consider to be the theme of 2020.
[00:03:52.830]So our primary goal in the class
[00:03:54.520]was to give the students an opportunity
[00:03:56.500]to innovate towards some of the major grand challenges
[00:04:00.220]that they Rwandan government has identified
[00:04:02.450]that the country as a whole will be dealing with
[00:04:05.420]moving towards 2035.
[00:04:07.170]And of course, we were looking at it
[00:04:08.560]through the lens of agriculture.
[00:04:11.020]The students spent the first couple of weeks
[00:04:13.070]doing a lot of in-depth research
[00:04:14.700]into understanding major drivers of change
[00:04:17.510]impacting the country as a whole
[00:04:19.450]and how Rwanda's future really fit in
[00:04:21.380]with the future of the region and then globally.
[00:04:24.540]And then they worked specifically with a professor
[00:04:27.460]here at UNL that had a passion in the particular feature
[00:04:30.333]that they chose to pursue, to create innovative solutions
[00:04:34.250]to some of them Rwanda's grand challenges.
[00:04:37.190]One of the ways we tried
[00:04:38.687]to incorporate the various interests
[00:04:40.490]of the students as well,
[00:04:42.430]in the process was throughout the term,
[00:04:44.380]we've had various professors from different disciplines
[00:04:47.310]come in and do some guest lecturing
[00:04:49.580]and then offer the opportunity for the students
[00:04:52.060]to also engage with them directly
[00:04:54.340]through a question and answer session.
[00:04:56.610]Having worked with many companies
[00:04:58.000]throughout the course of my career,
[00:04:59.280]I was absolutely incredibly impressed
[00:05:03.010]with the professionalism
[00:05:04.720]and the passion that these students showed
[00:05:06.580]towards creating innovative solutions.
[00:05:10.697](upbeat music)
[00:05:13.215]Hello, everyone, I'm Evariste Hategekimana.
[00:05:16.102]And I'm Ruth Fiona Bayimenye.
[00:05:18.200]So we're one of the winning team of Team Nyanza
[00:05:22.190]that were making the project or grand challenge
[00:05:25.555]that we were working on over this summer.
[00:05:28.370]So we're happy to present to you our project.
[00:05:32.810]In Rwanda there are very many people
[00:05:35.480]who live in a rural area of the country
[00:05:39.070]and then much of the migration
[00:05:41.270]that happens in the country goes from rural area
[00:05:44.070]to the urban area.
[00:05:46.400]So we just wanted to work on the potato industry
[00:05:50.640]as far as creating jobs is concerned.
[00:05:53.307]And on this project, we've just focused on potatoes
[00:05:56.870]and then the overview of potato industry
[00:05:59.460]is the 3.9 of all cultivatable land in Rwanda.
[00:06:04.580]So this is really a big part of the industry
[00:06:08.010]that is being used for land.
[00:06:10.980]And then for the overview,
[00:06:13.013]Rwanda is in the sixth largest producer
[00:06:16.007]of potatoes in Africa
[00:06:18.599]and there are really 6 million tons
[00:06:21.284]but all these, there are for just 2019
[00:06:23.780]and 1.5 billion Rwandan franc in production.
[00:06:27.430]And in average consumption is 125 kilograms per person
[00:06:31.570]which is really a big number.
[00:06:33.930]And some of the problems that want to solve:
[00:06:37.000]One is the storage, potatoes are put in a warehouse
[00:06:42.560]and then piled up in a big pile
[00:06:44.740]and then they get damaged to the extent where 25% is lost
[00:06:51.105]and another problem
[00:06:52.000]is about how the ready-to-sell potatoes
[00:06:54.720]are presented to customers
[00:06:56.160]and how they are in sold
[00:06:58.130]including even their transportation.
[00:06:59.780]So the potatoes are transported in bigger sacks
[00:07:03.570]and they are not presented well,
[00:07:06.410]even with the dirt,
[00:07:07.840]they are also just like that as you can see in the picture.
[00:07:11.240]So we want to solve that
[00:07:13.090]by introducing potato value additional centers
[00:07:16.925]with the first steps that are going to be used,
[00:07:20.090]first of all, the potatoes are going to be washed
[00:07:24.170]and then after washing, they're going to be inspected
[00:07:27.366]and then they're going to be sorted in size
[00:07:31.030]then packed for being sold on the market.
[00:07:34.540]This is how the value addition line is going to be
[00:07:39.260]from the loading to the washing
[00:07:40.970]and then sorting into different sizes.
[00:07:44.860]So then all those sizes
[00:07:47.277]are going to be sold in different prices.
[00:07:52.300]So this is how the sorting unit is gonna be,
[00:07:54.940]from one to the sixth grade.
[00:07:57.250]And then we expect to make changes
[00:08:01.790]from the potatoes being sold on the left side like that
[00:08:06.070]to the right side where they are sold in the boxes
[00:08:08.780]and well clean and presented to the customers.
[00:08:12.930]And from the storage,
[00:08:14.290]we're going to just move from piling up in the store,
[00:08:17.617]the potatoes in a warehouse
[00:08:19.900]to putting them in the crates
[00:08:21.730]and then so that they can be aerated
[00:08:23.490]and there gonna be less damage.
[00:08:26.030]So this is how on the food chain,
[00:08:31.600]how is going to be impacted;
[00:08:34.914]from the thin lines, you're gonna be the ordinary way,
[00:08:37.210]how potatoes are sold,
[00:08:38.950]and then we're gonna introduce the washing and sorting
[00:08:42.395]and then the storage,
[00:08:43.740]as you can see in the rectangular boxes over there.
[00:08:49.390]And as far as financing this project is concerned,
[00:08:53.090]we thought about partnering
[00:08:55.330]with the Business Development Fund
[00:08:59.940]for financing this project so that we can get the money.
[00:09:03.070]And then also the Access to Finance Rwanda
[00:09:06.283]are two financial institutions
[00:09:07.963]that will help us to finance this project
[00:09:13.690]To test the validity of our project,
[00:09:16.050]so we made a five-year plan to see how that's gonna go.
[00:09:20.980]In the first year, we're expecting to secure funds
[00:09:25.100]for these three washing centers
[00:09:27.360]so we can ensure that those potatoes are washed
[00:09:31.220]then processed as expected.
[00:09:33.790]And then we're also expecting the...
[00:09:36.370]Our goal is to have five to eight employees
[00:09:40.470]who are working with this pilot washing
[00:09:43.330]and also sorting on the line as well.
[00:09:47.290]And in the second year, we're expecting
[00:09:49.360]that at least we will reach the break even point
[00:09:52.350]where we will be able to at least have the money
[00:09:55.259]that has been invested being returned,
[00:09:58.040]and also be able to evaluate, is this project working,
[00:10:01.630]or can we do something else,
[00:10:04.240]or what can we do to just make sure
[00:10:06.780]that this is good for the people that we're giving it to?
[00:10:11.220]In the third year,
[00:10:12.090]we're hoping that we're going to enhance the supply chain,
[00:10:16.409]just coming from just one part of the co-operative
[00:10:20.450]and also going to other places like Kigali.
[00:10:23.150]And also we're hoping that we're going to partner
[00:10:26.100]with at least more than one co-operative well
[00:10:31.050]except that one that is in that part
[00:10:33.220]that we just talked about
[00:10:34.720]and we're expecting to hire about 40 people
[00:10:38.840]or a range 30 to 40 people
[00:10:41.220]and also have at least a $10 net profit
[00:10:44.660]for a hundred kilograms that are being sold.
[00:10:46.810]And then in the fourth and fifth years,
[00:10:48.400]we're also hoping to be able to consult other businesses
[00:10:52.490]and see if we can turn this project into actually a brand
[00:10:56.750]and have this cooperative, have it run as a business
[00:11:01.030]and also employ more people with a more defined supply.
[00:11:06.090]And this is all we're hoping
[00:11:08.090]that the employment will be working
[00:11:10.770]with the washing and sorting lines,
[00:11:12.300]we're hoping that, as we mentioned,
[00:11:14.210]in the first year to the second year
[00:11:16.040]the employment will be doubling.
[00:11:19.700]And then in the third and fourth year,
[00:11:22.920]we're hoping that it is going as well to double
[00:11:25.630]but we're also including the people
[00:11:27.270]who are in the marketing and the research
[00:11:29.270]because the plan is growing
[00:11:31.570]and we're hoping to supply potato to more people.
[00:11:34.880]And in the fifth year, from the fourth to the fifth year,
[00:11:37.750]we're hoping that we're going to grow exponentially
[00:11:41.250]and this is just for one co-operative,
[00:11:43.190]hoping that other five cooperatives
[00:11:45.160]that have been partnered with
[00:11:46.730]are also going to benefit the same.
[00:11:49.713]Some of the possible barriers that we might be faced with
[00:11:55.600]throughout this project would be slow adoption,
[00:11:58.290]just like it was something
[00:11:59.710]that could be new in the potato industry in Rwanda
[00:12:02.810]and so there is a possibility
[00:12:06.210]that it would not be accepted.
[00:12:08.880]And so to correct or rectify that,
[00:12:11.840]we said that we could showcase the value of sorted potatoes
[00:12:14.850]because then if people are buying clean and sorted potatoes
[00:12:19.310]they don't have to wash them themselves
[00:12:21.000]and it is way easier for them and easy to keep.
[00:12:24.110]And then also we're hoping that,
[00:12:26.886]the other challenge that could be there
[00:12:29.420]is to actually accept that prices that could be set there.
[00:12:33.250]But to remember as well,
[00:12:34.860]that one of the ways to fix that
[00:12:37.920]is that we could have different grades of the potatoes
[00:12:40.630]as they're being sorted
[00:12:42.670]and the bigger potatoes being sold at the higher price
[00:12:46.350]and the small ones depending on the quality
[00:12:49.090]and quantity that people need,
[00:12:50.670]that is one of the ways to also fix that.
[00:12:54.330]On a final note, this whole project was started
[00:12:57.450]because there's commercial potato processors
[00:13:02.680]there are still really, really few in the country
[00:13:07.181]and there was still the need to reduce that food waste
[00:13:10.400]that is attributed to potato damages that happen
[00:13:15.130]when they're being transported.
[00:13:16.930]And also because there's those few large potato producers
[00:13:21.931]that are great,
[00:13:24.040]it will be easier to bring them together
[00:13:26.260]and so that is why we thought that bringing this project
[00:13:29.890]and using the washing and the sorting lines,
[00:13:34.140]it would lead to an extra cost
[00:13:36.560]but still, it would stop the potato damages
[00:13:42.250]that are being made every year
[00:13:44.110]and it would also help more people to be employed
[00:13:47.880]and also improve their standards of living.
[00:13:51.210]And that will be it.
[00:13:52.519]Thank you for your time.
[00:13:54.042](upbeat music)
[00:13:56.867]Hi, my name is Brennan Costello.
[00:13:58.870]I work for the Engler Agribusiness
[00:14:00.620]Entrepreneurship Department on East Campus
[00:14:03.250]as a business relations officer there and as a teacher.
[00:14:06.440]It was my privilege to get to work with one of these teams
[00:14:09.700]and I was part of this project,
[00:14:10.860]I really enjoyed not only getting to coach them
[00:14:14.730]but really listening to the team
[00:14:16.340]about how they approach this problem
[00:14:18.660]in a way that they knew
[00:14:19.783]they could actually create some impact
[00:14:23.066]for their home country.
[00:14:24.390]What I really enjoyed most about working with this project
[00:14:28.020]was that this wasn't just made up problems,
[00:14:31.500]or we didn't hand the students problems,
[00:14:33.930]it came from the very beginning
[00:14:35.680]that this was gonna be a student-owned project,
[00:14:39.200]that this was gonna be something that was real,
[00:14:41.800]that could actually impact their home country,
[00:14:45.180]that their communities that they were part of,
[00:14:47.610]that this is something that would be really close
[00:14:49.290]and personal for what they were doing.
[00:14:50.950]And so I really enjoyed seeing the students take ownership
[00:14:54.190]of this project
[00:14:55.340]and actually build something that was meaningful.
[00:14:57.510]To really dive in, understand, do research,
[00:15:00.820]talk to people on the ground,
[00:15:01.790]to really understand what's going on
[00:15:03.570]in this particular marketplace
[00:15:05.010]and how can we have an impact here?
[00:15:07.360]How could we design something that could solve
[00:15:10.010]this specific issue and really grow the economic activity
[00:15:13.583]within the specific market?
[00:15:15.540]And I really enjoy the students
[00:15:17.040]and how they took leadership as part of it.
[00:15:18.700]I think this is something that we need to do more often,
[00:15:20.670]is giving students something within their context,
[00:15:23.673]their community, the industry that they wanna work on,
[00:15:27.394]let them explore problems,
[00:15:29.168]and then just coach them along the way to find solutions
[00:15:31.620]that can be real, tangible and impactful.
[00:15:34.300]I'm excited for each of these students.
[00:15:35.753]I think they have very bright future ahead of them
[00:15:37.373]and it was my pleasure
[00:15:39.080]to get to work with them on this project.
[00:15:40.937]Thanks.
[00:15:43.710]Hello, everyone.
[00:15:44.680]My name is Dickson Butera.
[00:15:46.510]I work for The Bridge Career Services as a Career Advisor.
[00:15:49.550]Last summer, I had the privilege on working
[00:15:52.540]on the capstone project.
[00:15:53.950]Specifically, I was working with Team Rwamagana
[00:15:57.420]which was comprised of Jonathan, Pasco,
[00:16:01.230]John, Eugene and Libert.
[00:16:03.863]Their project was to improve training in Rwanda,
[00:16:08.480]agriculture training in Rwanda through technology.
[00:16:13.650]And that was incredible,
[00:16:14.850]I watched these guys just literally come up
[00:16:16.880]with a whole plan
[00:16:17.890]on how they're going to help these farmers learn
[00:16:21.140]all these new skills and tricks to improve their yield
[00:16:24.390]and how they were going to tie in schools
[00:16:28.815]and local farmers
[00:16:30.640]to just really improve the whole agriculture space
[00:16:34.700]in Rwanda.
[00:16:35.640]And this is just Rwamagana,
[00:16:38.140]there was multiple other teams
[00:16:39.710]working on tackling malnutrition,
[00:16:42.290]and job creation, and youth empowerment and...
[00:16:46.390]It was just the whole scope of,
[00:16:49.620]the whole scope was incredible,
[00:16:50.920]the ideas that these kids had was amazing
[00:16:54.450]and how they all collaborated.
[00:16:56.010]And I actually believed my team, Team Rwamagana won
[00:16:58.920]so shout out to you guys.
[00:17:00.840]I want some of that money or, (chuckles) I'm kidding.
[00:17:03.720]But I was so incredibly lucky
[00:17:06.450]to have been a part of the capstone project
[00:17:08.220]and just in general, all you CUSP scholars,
[00:17:12.890]what you're doing is incredible
[00:17:14.200]and we're very proud of you.
[00:17:15.300]We're proud of your perseverance,
[00:17:17.120]we're proud of your unity and your hard work
[00:17:19.010]and I cannot wait to see what you do.
[00:17:21.460]And for RICA students, oh my God,
[00:17:24.250]you guys are the future
[00:17:25.410]of conservation agriculture in Rwanda.
[00:17:27.150]So all eyes are on you
[00:17:29.790]and we expect amazing things coming from, (indistinct).
[00:17:33.550]So I can't wait to see what you do.
[00:17:37.010]Stay healthy, stay sane,
[00:17:39.040]and I wish you all the best.
[00:17:41.140]Thank you.
[00:17:42.783](upbeat music)
[00:17:48.340]Greetings.
[00:17:49.190]According to the report from Rob 2019,
[00:17:52.542]statistics show that Rwanda's annual pork production
[00:17:55.800]is 20 tons while the demand is 60 tons.
[00:17:59.100]Also Rwanda is the least consumer of red meat in East Africa
[00:18:03.050]with eight kilograms of meat per person per year
[00:18:05.730]which is below as FAO recommendation
[00:18:07.890]of 50 kilogram of meat per person per annum.
[00:18:11.280]Additionally, according to FAO,
[00:18:13.826]in 2016/2017 in Rwanda, red meat production,
[00:18:18.240]74% of it was from cows and 26% of it from goat and sheep
[00:18:25.610]which shows a huge gap in pork production.
[00:18:28.210]Also, the little pork which is available
[00:18:31.030]is produced and prepared in poor and traditional way
[00:18:33.870]which makes it inappropriate
[00:18:34.764]to compete on the international market.
[00:18:38.030]It's due to those problems
[00:18:39.030]that Isange Pork Production Industries Limited
[00:18:41.960]has been set down.
[00:18:43.050]So how is it going to solve all those problems?
[00:18:46.390]Isange Pork Production is here to solve this problem
[00:18:49.000]through standard methods of fattening piglets
[00:18:51.540]to a desired standard as needed on the international market
[00:18:55.530]and processing them into quality pork
[00:18:57.880]using a modern processing way
[00:18:59.440]of weaning, slaughtering, packaging
[00:19:01.990]and other processing stages into fresh pork at large scale
[00:19:05.950]so as to provide high quality, reliable and affordable pork
[00:19:10.290]with standard packaging methods
[00:19:14.551]for Rwandan hotels, restaurant and local pork consumers
[00:19:17.110]that have this problem of insufficient pork supply,
[00:19:20.970]no forgetting the foreign markets
[00:19:23.420]According to our business plan,
[00:19:24.830]we'll be able to sell 48,521 Kgs,
[00:19:29.640]which correspond to 242 pigs for 200 kilograms
[00:19:34.760]to break even per year.
[00:19:36.890]This really give us hope
[00:19:38.420]that in later years we'll be able to satisfy local market
[00:19:42.130]and also foreign market at our level best with time.
[00:19:45.860]Than you.
[00:19:47.557]Our business will operate in accord
[00:19:49.560]with conservation of the country and Rwandan principles
[00:19:52.820]through practices like compressive nutrient management plan,
[00:19:56.849]vegetative windbreakers plan buffers
[00:19:59.170]which will be holding plantation of trees
[00:20:02.050]and shrubs around our barns
[00:20:03.902]to help to improve the environment of our industry
[00:20:07.090]and our birds and our neighbors.
[00:20:09.780]Also for sake of using animal manure
[00:20:12.664]as natural fertilizer for the crops
[00:20:15.409]and that crops in turn be used as animal feed.
[00:20:18.890]Our company will operate with a vision
[00:20:20.660]of being the outstanding producer
[00:20:22.360]of high quality fresh pork in Rwanda,
[00:20:24.400]and also with the objectives to bridge the gap
[00:20:26.770]between the pork demand and supply in Rwanda and outside
[00:20:29.760]and high quality, affordable and reliable pork,
[00:20:32.860]providing pork with high packaging facilities
[00:20:35.530]to meet the national and international standards,
[00:20:37.990]contributing to Rwanda's increase in export revenues
[00:20:41.390]and also creating job opportunities in our country,
[00:20:44.470]as well as contributing
[00:20:45.810]to employment increase in the country.
[00:20:48.030]According to our prepared business plan,
[00:20:50.170]the expected revenues from cash sales
[00:20:52.440]and credit sales is 364 million plus Rwandan Franc
[00:20:57.370]on net income, excluding the annual expenses.
[00:21:01.270]We have planned to start
[00:21:02.380]with at least 62,814,000 Rwandan Franc
[00:21:07.850]as the cost of investment in resources like land, officers,
[00:21:12.676]machinery, salaries and other initial costs
[00:21:15.940]to start operating the business.
[00:21:18.200]Yes, we have a good business idea
[00:21:20.630]but we don't have that much capital to start running it.
[00:21:23.780]And that's what we are seeking from BRD.
[00:21:26.650]Well, it was nice meeting with you.
[00:21:29.410]Again, we are Isange Pork Production Industries Limited
[00:21:32.700]which produce high quality pork.
[00:21:34.920]If you are interested, here's our business card,
[00:21:37.330]you are free to call us later.
[00:21:39.316](upbeat music)
[00:21:53.720]My name is Maurice Tuyishime.
[00:21:55.750]I work as deputy farm manager at B2 Rwanda Farms.
[00:22:00.313]At the University of Nebraska Lincoln,
[00:22:01.850]I studied integrated sciences
[00:22:04.266]and I had minors in leadership entrepreneurship,
[00:22:09.130]conservation agriculture and horticulture.
[00:22:11.620]So my main focus there was a horticulture production,
[00:22:14.840]that was my main concentration.
[00:22:16.620]At UNL, we were mostly studying agriculture related sciences
[00:22:20.940]and for what I'm doing today
[00:22:23.890]at Nova Farm is mainly horticulture related.
[00:22:28.410]So we are moving from soybean and maize,
[00:22:33.450]studying horticulture production for export.
[00:22:37.090]So the study I did at UNL is very crucial at...
[00:22:42.920]I can see it applying what I've learned
[00:22:45.680]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln to the farm
[00:22:48.580]and two division we have at the farm here.
[00:22:51.240]So my experience working with The Bridge Career Service
[00:22:54.820]has been really great and encouraging
[00:22:58.030]because they help you every step of the way
[00:23:01.020]like starting with your resume, writing them, editing it
[00:23:05.350]and the cover letters,
[00:23:07.610]they prep you for the interviews
[00:23:12.019]and also the connection you get
[00:23:13.460]from different job positions that are there in Rwanda.
[00:23:17.240]I think working with them is really helpful
[00:23:19.720]and I encourage other globally educated students
[00:23:23.270]to also reach out and get help in getting job placement
[00:23:27.890]My official title at Bridgewater farm
[00:23:30.620]is deputy farm manager.
[00:23:33.130]Some of the work that I do here
[00:23:36.200]is like irrigation equipment,
[00:23:38.790]maintaining them, operating center pivot
[00:23:43.430]or spray irrigation, the nursery, working in the nursery
[00:23:47.270]and making some beds in the nursery
[00:23:50.650]and seeding, transplanting that stuff
[00:23:54.680]that I have to be here on the farm
[00:23:57.140]and then help the farmers, show the proper way to do it.
[00:24:00.670]And then just work with them.
[00:24:02.030]When I'm not at the field,
[00:24:04.240]I'm mostly, sometime I'm at the office in Kigali
[00:24:07.720]or doing some planning, there's more to Ag sector now.
[00:24:13.460]Nowadays, people are now understanding
[00:24:16.030]and getting to know more about Ag sector as a whole chain,
[00:24:19.840]not just digging also the whole process
[00:24:23.700]of getting food to the table as a food sciences,
[00:24:28.824]as other sectors that are mainly included in the Ag sector.
[00:24:34.010]The most rewarding thing is seeing the social impact
[00:24:37.580]this farm is having in the local community.
[00:24:40.330]So not just paying them weekly their wages
[00:24:44.240]but also going into their homes
[00:24:46.010]and seeing how they use their money,
[00:24:48.670]helping them save and invest, buy the plot of land,
[00:24:53.100]they can just farm
[00:24:54.530]or use the technique we are teaching them here
[00:24:56.700]so they can use it on their own land.
[00:24:58.740]So it's really rewarding to see them farming
[00:25:03.926]using the techniques we are using here at the farm
[00:25:08.280]and also using them to their own field
[00:25:10.220]and just seeing how they harvest more
[00:25:14.642]than they used to harvest.
[00:25:16.460]The advice I would give to a CUSP scholar
[00:25:18.280]who will be graduating
[00:25:19.910]and coming back in Rwanda to launch their careers
[00:25:23.160]is to have an open mind on what they'll be doing
[00:25:28.190]and also try new things.
[00:25:30.360]And when you come back in Rwanda,
[00:25:32.150]there's so many opportunities of work,
[00:25:35.310]there's a lot of jobs to be done in Ag sector,
[00:25:37.800]there's lots of skills
[00:25:38.670]that we still need in agriculture sector.
[00:25:41.740]So I think I will encourage my fellow CUSP scholars
[00:25:45.090]who was in US who'll be graduating in the coming years
[00:25:48.710]will also think about coming back
[00:25:50.650]and help build the agriculture sector
[00:25:53.890]and then work with farmers,
[00:25:55.460]I think it's most rewarding to see the impact
[00:25:58.460]and the change you can have on the small holder farmers
[00:26:02.330]in their welfare and also their income as well.
[00:26:06.603](upbeat music)
[00:26:26.720]Hello, everyone.
[00:26:28.050]My name is Kazungu Mireille.
[00:26:29.970]I'm RICA student and chief operating officer of RISCO,
[00:26:34.470]that's RICA Student Cooperative.
[00:26:36.860]I'm in charge of their business operation,
[00:26:39.530]and main production activities, marketing activities,
[00:26:43.070]and selling activities.
[00:26:45.178]RISCO has the power of introducing students
[00:26:47.640]to the challenges and opportunities
[00:26:49.730]of working together in formal registered co-operative.
[00:26:54.196](upbeat music)
[00:27:01.684]Personally, there're around four benefits
[00:27:04.230]of working in a cooperative
[00:27:05.870]than working in the farm in (indistinct).
[00:27:08.319]The first one is that cooperative this is the work.
[00:27:12.410]In the first case,
[00:27:15.170]the work that had been done by seven people
[00:27:19.220]is now done by around 10 people.
[00:27:21.560]The second one is that it expedites the work,
[00:27:26.890]it's now more quicker than in the past days
[00:27:31.730]where we had to do we had to do things
[00:27:34.300]in a group of seven people.
[00:27:36.760]And the other benefit
[00:27:39.350]is that you get to feel the sense of belonging,
[00:27:44.100]it's not only in the farm,
[00:27:47.980]when you get into the house
[00:27:50.380]you get to feel people around you.
[00:27:53.692](upbeat music)
[00:28:01.640]Agriculture is more than planting crops,
[00:28:04.360]is more than keeping animals,
[00:28:06.360]it is saving people from hunger.
[00:28:08.890]As we all know, the happiness of farmer is to get harvest.
[00:28:12.650]And the RICA students made it.
[00:28:14.991]Here you see, we have African eggplants,
[00:28:18.280]they are with (indistinct).
[00:28:21.260]We have tried our best to give it enough fertilizer,
[00:28:24.780]enough pesticides to overcome pest and disease,
[00:28:27.800]but the problem is that we don't have markets.
[00:28:30.630]Some of our products started drying in the field
[00:28:32.810]and the people here outside, they need something to eat.
[00:28:37.700]This is a big problem. This is a big challenge.
[00:28:41.612]We've tried to take our products in the cold room
[00:28:44.620]to make sure that they can last long
[00:28:46.350]in case we're waiting for the customers
[00:28:49.350]and for people to buy our products.
[00:28:51.687]But the problem is
[00:28:53.230]cafeteria is not able to take all of our products,
[00:28:56.200]we don't have enough market
[00:28:57.890]and now we are not able to add value to our products.
[00:29:01.960]This is a serious problem. This is a big challenge.
[00:29:05.120]Of course, our aim is not to get profit only,
[00:29:07.930]we want to save people from hunger.
[00:29:09.960]We've tried our best to take some of our produce,
[00:29:13.410]some of our harvest
[00:29:15.040]and we tried to give to the people outside.
[00:29:18.220]This is something to appreciate
[00:29:20.870]but on the other side, this is a loss
[00:29:23.540]because we are learning but also we are business people.
[00:29:28.880]We need to make money.
[00:29:30.240]We invest everything here, we invest our energy,
[00:29:33.150]we invest our time, we invest many pesticides,
[00:29:35.930]we invest many fertilizer...
[00:29:37.400]There are many inputs we invested here to get all of these,
[00:29:41.260]but the problem is this, we don't enough market.
[00:29:45.000]This is a big challenge. This is a big problem.
[00:29:48.150]Please, let's work together,
[00:29:50.000]let's look forward for solution to overcome this
[00:29:53.280]because we need to serve people, we need to help people,
[00:29:57.150]but also we need to get the money.
[00:30:00.540]Thank you.
[00:30:01.606](upbeat music)
[00:30:12.770]Yes, we faced many challenges,
[00:30:15.000]but the great thing is that these challenges
[00:30:17.840]are opportunities to grow and learning leads to success.
[00:30:21.810]Of course, you cannot wake up in the morning
[00:30:23.860]and plant seed and wait for the harvest in the evening.
[00:30:27.184]It will require, there's cutting,
[00:30:29.250]it will require irrigation,
[00:30:30.656]it will require to apply fertilizers,
[00:30:32.440]to spray pesticides to kill pest and disease,
[00:30:35.590]all those you will do it until you get the yield.
[00:30:38.520]Therefore, I believe that RISCO members
[00:30:41.552]will help us to overcome all these now and in the future.
[00:30:45.920](upbeat music)
[00:31:04.580]Hi, Tay, how about you tell us why we're here?
[00:31:07.470]Sure thing, Lisa.
[00:31:09.080]So I'm here today to introduce Cultivate ACCESS.
[00:31:11.860]Cultivate ACCESS is a virtual mentoring program
[00:31:14.390]to help Nebraskan High School students
[00:31:16.540]discover and find a place for themselves
[00:31:18.460]within the agricultural industry.
[00:31:20.440]We do this through a holistic program
[00:31:22.740]where high school students
[00:31:23.980]from diverse backgrounds explore careers in science,
[00:31:26.720]technology, engineering and math or STEM,
[00:31:29.330]related to agriculture.
[00:31:31.060]We engage high school youth in our program
[00:31:33.270]with current industry professionals
[00:31:34.900]and university students for a mentoring experience.
[00:31:38.010]What a cool program.
[00:31:39.080]So can you tell us how us people from Rwanda
[00:31:42.020]support conservational agriculture farming?
[00:31:44.920]Word on the street
[00:31:45.753]is there is a really amazing collaboration
[00:31:48.190]between our Cultivate ACCESS team and a team at RICA.
[00:31:51.448]With the unique program that we have here at Nebraska,
[00:31:55.230]we notice a lot of parallels between our work here
[00:31:58.010]and what RICA is trying to achieve in Rwanda.
[00:32:00.830]Our end goal through this partnership
[00:32:02.520]is to increase participation of vulnerable Rwandan youth
[00:32:06.200]in STEM related agricultural and entrepreneurship fields.
[00:32:09.400]And what we hope to do is to utilize the experiences
[00:32:11.900]that we have here in Nebraska
[00:32:13.810]to work with individuals like yourself at RICA
[00:32:16.690]to conceptualize a similar mentoring program
[00:32:18.970]that is based in Rwanda.
[00:32:20.680]Yeah, so at RICA
[00:32:21.740]we see a lot of value in this collaboration
[00:32:24.370]and agriculture as a potential profession
[00:32:26.830]but something that is still overlooked here in Rwanda.
[00:32:29.460]So we hope that this program
[00:32:31.060]in addition to other mentoring programs
[00:32:33.330]will help encourage secondary students
[00:32:35.890]to further their education,
[00:32:37.340]more specifically in STEM and agriculture related fields.
[00:32:40.790]In fact, we're in this amazing position
[00:32:43.110]where we have you, Lisa,
[00:32:44.950]to lead this collaboration from RICA's side.
[00:32:47.670]You are also well-known to the CUSP scholars
[00:32:50.000]as one of the magnificent seven
[00:32:52.170]and now here you are working as a full-time staff at RICA.
[00:32:55.799]Can you tell us about your journey?
[00:32:58.150]Yeah, so as you said, I was part of the Magnificent Seven
[00:33:03.330]which is the first cohort of the CUSP program,
[00:33:05.747]for those who don't know and we graduated in May, 2019.
[00:33:09.370]Right after I pursued my masters
[00:33:11.000]at the University of Global Health Equity.
[00:33:13.270]And just last year in August,
[00:33:14.620]I graduated with a master of global health in delivery.
[00:33:17.760]Right now, I'm working at RICA as the community
[00:33:20.220]and extension educator,
[00:33:21.900]where I'm looking to bridge the academic institution
[00:33:24.220]with the communities around us.
[00:33:26.000]I'm also the focal person for this amazing collaboration
[00:33:28.580]on the RICA side.
[00:33:29.840]While I was at UNL, I pursued community nutrition,
[00:33:33.010]conservation of agriculture and entrepreneurship
[00:33:34.937]and leadership as my concentrations
[00:33:37.546]and I graduated with a degree in integrated sciences.
[00:33:41.460]I would say that having an agriculture education at UNL
[00:33:44.300]has equipped me with the skills
[00:33:46.030]of looking at the bigger picture,
[00:33:47.370]having a system for every thinking,
[00:33:49.320]questioning the system and the status quo
[00:33:51.280]and always having grabby to go, aiming to challenge that.
[00:33:54.960]And those are some of the skills that I am now using
[00:33:59.690]in the position that I've made to date.
[00:34:02.070]Wow, that sounds amazing.
[00:34:03.790]And it has been a truly awesome experience to work with you.
[00:34:08.070]What do you think this UNL/RICA collaboration
[00:34:11.690]will add to students' experiences?
[00:34:14.170]I would say that it will provide an opportunity
[00:34:16.240]to both RICA and UNL students
[00:34:17.860]to start making an impact on local community.
[00:34:21.710]Just get those from both groups
[00:34:23.040]who are engaged on this whole exchange
[00:34:25.130]and sharing of knowledge within the communities in Rwanda
[00:34:28.205]and as well as in Nebraska,
[00:34:29.490]and that will definitely increase their global awareness.
[00:34:32.840]What we plan to do is to have ambassadors
[00:34:35.090]from each institution work together
[00:34:37.110]to further Cultivate ACCESS mission in both location.
[00:34:41.670]We will be providing
[00:34:42.560]intentional professional development opportunities,
[00:34:45.550]as well as skills training for all our ambassadors.
[00:34:48.700]Ambassadors will have a chance
[00:34:50.170]to build intercultural relationships with each other
[00:34:53.140]while working towards the same goal
[00:34:54.800]to make an impact on their local communities.
[00:34:57.831](upbeat music)
[00:35:15.410]Hello, this is Team Rwamagana.
[00:35:18.280]My name is Eugene and I am joined by...
[00:35:21.972]Libert Niyonkuru.
[00:35:23.510]Yeah, so our team members
[00:35:25.177]who are not here are Jeanne, Jonathan and Pascal.
[00:35:29.640]Today, we're going to present
[00:35:31.507]about our grand challenge topic,
[00:35:32.920]which is expanding agricultural education
[00:35:35.930]and training opportunities in Rwanda through technology.
[00:35:41.790]So in Rwanda we have lack of proper channel
[00:35:46.700]to share agricultural research findings
[00:35:49.110]between our agricultural scientists.
[00:35:51.670]And also we have over 70% of farmers
[00:35:54.770]who are still engaging in subsistence farming.
[00:35:58.040]And finally, we have over 60% of farmers,
[00:36:03.006]who are aged above 40 years old and are uneducated.
[00:36:11.690]So why do we care about these problems?
[00:36:13.850]Why do they need to be solved?
[00:36:15.950]We have over 72% of the working population in Rwanda
[00:36:19.690]who work in agriculture
[00:36:22.420]and over 29% of the national GDP is from agriculture.
[00:36:30.146]So concerning literacy rate in Rwandan farmers,
[00:36:33.740]we have over 26% of farmers who have no education at all,
[00:36:38.650]no formal education.
[00:36:40.500]And we have only 1% of farmers
[00:36:45.259]who finished at least college,
[00:36:48.430]this means to have only 1% of farmers
[00:36:51.220]who are able to analyze and interpret scientific data
[00:36:55.260]and they use that information in their firms.
[00:37:01.990]So a potential solution
[00:37:03.500]to discussed problems above is AgConnect
[00:37:06.723]which is a knowledge and skills sharing based platform
[00:37:10.100]for agriculture experts, students, farmers
[00:37:13.510]and professors in agriculture sector in Rwanda.
[00:37:17.770]So this is how AgConnect will work:
[00:37:19.760]AgConnect is a website that will house a YouTube channel
[00:37:23.650]that has videos that trains agricultural farmers,
[00:37:29.330]local farm consultants and students the basic farm skills
[00:37:34.660]and also will organize a workshop, annual workshop
[00:37:39.110]for those local farm consultants on farms.
[00:37:42.930]We've a big database that we share, replace
[00:37:47.140]and store agricultural findings
[00:37:50.860]and research publications in the Rwandan context.
[00:37:53.807]And also it is a hub for scientific community in agriculture
[00:38:00.410]to share, work together
[00:38:02.247]and support each other in their research.
[00:38:06.868]The stakeholders for AgConnect are basically farmers,
[00:38:12.120]local farm consultants, of course students in agriculture,
[00:38:15.910]farmers, professors and other researchers in agriculture
[00:38:21.320]who will be working together onto the platform.
[00:38:26.350]So this is a sample webpage example.
[00:38:30.650]In this example we have a profile for Jonathan
[00:38:34.410]who has graduated at UNL with a bachelor's degree
[00:38:38.140]integrated science and a concentration in mechanized system.
[00:38:42.030]So far he has produced three videos
[00:38:45.910]but so in microbial activity is
[00:38:49.430]as a technique and storage, agriculture yield
[00:38:53.198]and also some entrepreneurship
[00:38:56.647]about earning from farm products.
[00:38:59.806]So in this example, you can see in the lower left corner
[00:39:04.010]there is contact information for Mr. Jonathan.
[00:39:08.210]This will be used by students
[00:39:10.270]or other people who wants to join him in his research
[00:39:13.959]and also to the right lower corner,
[00:39:16.960]there is an individualized form,
[00:39:21.930]a form full of farmers or local farm consultants
[00:39:25.450]who wants to ask specific questions
[00:39:28.200]or who need specific help from Jonathan,
[00:39:31.070]they can use that form.
[00:39:33.660]In the top right corner is member log-in option
[00:39:37.910]for those professors, experts
[00:39:40.930]or students who wants to use AgConnect.
[00:39:45.320]They can log into that and publish their videos
[00:39:48.922]and their research.
[00:39:53.540]So our mission is basically driving agriculture change
[00:39:57.110]from subsistence farming to commercial farming
[00:40:00.130]through educating and training farmers in Rwanda.
[00:40:04.040]So we have three values.
[00:40:06.630]The first one is expertise:
[00:40:08.370]We need to use experts in AgConnect
[00:40:10.950]so that they can disseminate
[00:40:12.800]critical science proven information to farmers.
[00:40:17.645]Our second value is individuality:
[00:40:20.350]We are unique in that we serve our farmers
[00:40:23.289]based on their goals and challenges.
[00:40:26.230]And also responsibility:
[00:40:28.400]We feel this sense of responsibility
[00:40:30.880]that we need to help farmers succeed in what they do.
[00:40:36.281]The main key performance indicators are,
[00:40:40.090]we need to start a website
[00:40:42.580]and have at least 100,000 users
[00:40:46.260]by the first year of activity
[00:40:48.370]and we need to reach farmers
[00:40:50.870]in at least 25 out of 30 districts of the country
[00:40:55.390]in the first two years.
[00:40:57.060]Additionally, we need to have
[00:41:00.070]at least 50,000 YouTube subscribers in the first two years.
[00:41:04.980]And finally, we need to have at least 50 experts.
[00:41:08.630]This means professors and other scientists in agriculture
[00:41:11.560]who can regularly contribute to our website
[00:41:14.980]in the first six months.
[00:41:18.100]Our implementation timeline ranges
[00:41:20.400]from registering AgConnect in RDB
[00:41:24.934]to inviting different people, including students, colleges
[00:41:30.120]and universities, scientists in Rwanda
[00:41:33.880]to Publish the videos and journals on our website.
[00:41:37.860]We're planning to register AgConnect in RDB
[00:41:43.140]by December, 2020
[00:41:45.220]and start our activities of AgConnect by June, 2021.
[00:41:53.520]So to start AgConnect, we need to be financially ready
[00:41:58.122]with roughly US$200,000 of start-up costs.
[00:42:04.680]So the cost is mainly expected to come from grants
[00:42:09.880]from Rwanda Agricultural Board
[00:42:11.740]and other NGOs interested in AgConnect
[00:42:14.540]and also future fundraising opportunities.
[00:42:17.440]So the costs will be distributed
[00:42:19.090]through website building and cost maintenance.
[00:42:23.185]And also, advertising and annual workshops,
[00:42:27.990]also rent for the housing for our headquarter.
[00:42:33.170]The challenges that we expect to meet throughout the journey
[00:42:37.274]are the start-up costs for the annual workshop,
[00:42:40.450]which is going to be money already available each year
[00:42:44.760]to host these workshops
[00:42:46.307]and also gaining trust from farmers and scientists
[00:42:49.747]and people who are willing to contribute to AgConnect,
[00:42:53.186]that would be a difficult problem.
[00:42:54.810]And also a natural challenge
[00:42:57.010]is lack of access to internet infrastructure
[00:42:59.740]in rural areas in Rwanda.
[00:43:02.400]But these are solutions to these challenges:
[00:43:04.160]Submitting grant proposals to RAB
[00:43:07.667]and other NGOs interested in AgConnect.
[00:43:11.298]And also we are going to work with organizations
[00:43:15.280]that are already working with farmers in Rwanda
[00:43:17.839]like Bridge2Rwanda Farms, One Acre Fund
[00:43:22.750]for us to have that trust with the farmers.
[00:43:26.260]Also, we want to partner with universities in Rwanda,
[00:43:31.404]potentially RICA to work with their students,
[00:43:35.126]their professors, and have that hub created.
[00:43:40.080]And also we learned to put Mara Phones
[00:43:43.530]which is a company that produces smartphones in Rwanda
[00:43:47.499]for them to pre-install AgConnect on the phones
[00:43:51.930]to be used often for people who are in far rural areas
[00:43:56.050]without internet access.
[00:44:00.050]We're thankful for this experience
[00:44:01.791]and we hope to bring AgConnect to life.
[00:44:04.357]Thank you.
[00:44:05.190](upbeat music)
[00:44:06.969]Congratulations, Team Rwamagana
[00:44:08.520]for being in the top two of the Agri 486 Class.
[00:44:12.970]I really enjoyed working with you all
[00:44:15.970]and I'm very proud of you.
[00:44:18.640]I learned a lot in the process about Rwamagana
[00:44:23.170]which is a city in Rwanda,
[00:44:26.160]and I really enjoyed listening to different perspectives
[00:44:29.690]that you had on different issues in Rwanda.
[00:44:34.260]So hopefully AgConnect will be a real social media platform
[00:44:41.467]that connects various stakeholders
[00:44:43.940]in the agriculture ecosystem.
[00:44:45.670]Congratulations again
[00:44:47.060]and all the very best for your future.
[00:44:49.330]And thanks to Carrie
[00:44:51.211]for putting together this excellent course over the summer,
[00:44:55.280]thanks to you and your team.
[00:44:56.540]And I look forward to continue to be involved
[00:45:01.200]in this project.
[00:45:02.420]I really am attracted
[00:45:05.150]to the concept of the grand challenges
[00:45:08.160]and how do you resolve those grand challenges
[00:45:12.040]through this class?
[00:45:13.916]So, thank you, Carrie, for the opportunity. Good luck.
[00:45:17.832](upbeat music)
[00:45:19.650]Hi, my name is Rodney Rugamba
[00:45:21.460]and I'm a Bridge2Rwanda fellow.
[00:45:24.340]I've been working in Rwanda since my graduation tin 2019,
[00:45:28.300]so almost two years now.
[00:45:29.970]I am incredibly happy
[00:45:33.980]and I had the pleasure of having been part
[00:45:37.590]of the CUSP and RICA program Cultivate ACCESS
[00:45:39.380]where I was as acting as a mentor for three teams;
[00:45:43.280]Team Kigali, Team Hanga and Team Jichungi.
[00:45:48.324]I have to say I was really, really happy to be part of it
[00:45:52.120]because I got to see so much beauty
[00:45:55.900]in the interaction of the teams.
[00:45:58.932]The idea creation process,
[00:46:00.810]when people are coming up with ideas,
[00:46:03.020]brainstorming what to do
[00:46:04.680]about the different problems they're trying to tackle,
[00:46:08.440]it was really, really inspiring
[00:46:11.020]and encouraging to be part of that process.
[00:46:15.850]Looking at the agriculture sector in Rwanda, really,
[00:46:18.280]it's not hard to realize that to a large extent
[00:46:23.400]it's still subsistence at best.
[00:46:26.020]So most people do farming for their own families
[00:46:28.630]and may be sell the surplus only when there is,
[00:46:33.400]so many practices are still not as advanced
[00:46:38.240]as many Rwandans would like to see.
[00:46:40.750]And I think looking at what UNL CUSP scholars are doing,
[00:46:50.070]coming up with all these ideas,
[00:46:51.930]I believe they are simply the future
[00:46:54.790]of agriculture in Rwanda.
[00:46:56.832]Not doing agriculture
[00:46:58.930]because you have to just survive you and your family,
[00:47:02.770]but you're doing it to make enterprises out of them
[00:47:06.260]to come up with new ideas, new solutions,
[00:47:08.300]to deal with all these problems
[00:47:09.840]that have been troubling Rwanda for the past decades,
[00:47:15.671]many, many decades now.
[00:47:19.320]So when I look at what CUSP scholars are doing,
[00:47:23.620]I really just see the the future agriculture in Rwanda,
[00:47:28.240]feeling something.
[00:47:29.655](upbeat music)
[00:47:33.006]Let me take this opportunity
[00:47:34.050]to say congratulations to you, CUSP scholars,
[00:47:36.860]for coming this far and a job well done
[00:47:40.620]and I want to also say that good luck
[00:47:43.100]in everything that you're doing,
[00:47:45.200]you all had great ideas
[00:47:47.695]and amazing passion and also team spirit.
[00:47:53.100]I think there's nothing that you won't be able to achieve
[00:47:57.740]if you simply just keep moving.
[00:48:00.750]Good luck.
[00:48:05.100]My name is Mark Balshweid
[00:48:07.770]and I serve
[00:48:08.603]as the Head of the Department of Agricultural Leadership,
[00:48:12.320]Education and Communication
[00:48:15.020]on the Campus of the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:48:18.400]I had an opportunity this past summer
[00:48:20.540]to serve as a faculty mentor for one of the teams of four
[00:48:25.950]that was addressing these grand challenges facing Rwanda.
[00:48:30.940]And it was so gratifying for me
[00:48:33.340]to hear them wrestling with topics such as food safety
[00:48:37.430]and food security,
[00:48:39.630]early childhood education in Rwanda, youth unemployment,
[00:48:45.650]business development and entrepreneurship,
[00:48:48.900]and broadband capacity and accessibility,
[00:48:52.110]just to name a few of the issues.
[00:48:54.570]And what was really gratifying
[00:48:56.850]was to listen to these conversations
[00:48:59.773]that these students were having
[00:49:01.530]based upon the context of their lived experiences in Rwanda,
[00:49:07.000]coupled with the education that they have received here
[00:49:10.220]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln,
[00:49:12.946]and then added to that,
[00:49:14.740]their growth and development and leadership,
[00:49:17.090]as many of them are pursuing the leadership minor
[00:49:20.030]in my department.
[00:49:21.920]And all of that put together,
[00:49:24.640]I found to be very rewarding to be a part of
[00:49:28.290]because what it showed me is that their future
[00:49:31.040]and the future of the Country of Rwanda is very bright.
[00:49:35.490]As a result of your investment in them
[00:49:37.797]and in the future of their country,
[00:49:39.620]I just wanna say thank you
[00:49:41.310]because it's clear that these are change makers,
[00:49:44.110]these are difference makers,
[00:49:45.980]and as a result, their future
[00:49:48.724]and the future of Rwanda is very bright.
[00:49:52.760]Thank you.
[00:49:57.130]Hey, come on, let me tell you about RICA.
[00:49:59.802](upbeat music)
[00:50:02.490]As you see, I'm in the mangoes
[00:50:04.200]but I'm here to talk about RICA.
[00:50:06.100]My name is Mbabazi Latifah .
[00:50:07.990]I'm a student
[00:50:08.823]at Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture.
[00:50:12.360]In our first year of farming we deal with crops
[00:50:15.960]where we cultivate crops
[00:50:18.180]and rear animals such cow and cattle. Cultivate ACCESS
[00:50:22.070]In year two, we deal with enterprises such as irrigation
[00:50:27.750]and mechanization for Dunlop Cultivate ACCESS,
[00:50:32.093]crop production and food processing.
[00:50:34.970]And in our final year, we learn entrepreneurship
[00:50:37.254]and internship.
[00:50:38.848](upbeat music)
[00:50:41.038]One of the interesting part of farming here at RICA
[00:50:43.680]is taking care of dairy cows.
[00:50:46.026]And my name is Prince Kwizera,
[00:50:48.350]I'm going to take you
[00:50:49.183]through dairy cows experience here at RICA.
[00:50:52.010]Here at RICA we gain practical knowledge on dairy cows
[00:50:54.550]in the three main components,
[00:50:56.490]that is feeding, milking and treatment.
[00:51:00.690]In feeding, we normally feed our cows six times a day
[00:51:03.740]with grasses and two times with concentric,
[00:51:07.090]that is early in the morning
[00:51:08.250]and evening when you are milking.
[00:51:10.440]They also have a grazing plot
[00:51:12.170]with enough water supply for drinking.
[00:51:15.302]In milking, we normally milk our cows two times a day,
[00:51:18.840]that's in the morning at 5:00 and evening at 6:00.
[00:51:21.797]And we have gained a lot of experience in the both hands
[00:51:25.130]and machine milking and it's always easy for us
[00:51:27.820]and effective when we use machines.
[00:51:29.890]And in treatment, we have gained a lot with our lecturers
[00:51:33.450]about animal physiology,
[00:51:35.010]that's both physical
[00:51:35.843]and biological functioning of organ systems.
[00:51:39.200]And therefore, it is easier for us to detect any change
[00:51:42.530]in the biological and physical functioning organ systems,
[00:51:45.970]therefore providing quick,
[00:51:47.690]effective veterinary care of our cows.
[00:51:50.377]All of these and other experiences in dairy enterprises,
[00:51:54.250]equips us with modern skills
[00:51:55.940]and knowledge that will help us
[00:51:57.660]to develop sustainable dairy enterprises
[00:52:00.100]here in Rwanda and worldwide.
[00:52:02.220]Thank you.
[00:52:03.153](upbeat music)
[00:52:06.430]From day one at RICA, we cultivated many crops.
[00:52:09.920]With these African (indistinct) peppers,
[00:52:11.660]we've been getting enough harvest for them.
[00:52:14.240]They've been good for us
[00:52:16.380]so they are good for our climate.
[00:52:19.900]They give us much harvest, yeah.
[00:52:21.960]We also have harvested maize, groundnuts, cabbages
[00:52:28.500]eggplants, and others, yeah.
[00:52:32.285](upbeat music)
[00:52:35.580]I'm Lilian Kaliza, a student from RICA.
[00:52:38.230]I'm the President of RICA Students Cooperative.
[00:52:41.090]At RICA, we learn how to rear chicks,
[00:52:44.350]learn by hands-on experience.
[00:52:46.310]We rear broilers and layers as well.
[00:52:49.850]In layers, we have ISA Brown
[00:52:51.850]and in broilers we have Kolbe 500
[00:52:55.510]and what we do in our daily chores, we feed them,
[00:53:00.040]we collect the eggs
[00:53:01.116]and then we make sure
[00:53:02.950]that the sanitation in their barns is clean.
[00:53:06.880]And we make sure that we disinfect
[00:53:09.950]before we enter in their barns.
[00:53:13.010]Among the feeds that we feed them is starter feed
[00:53:17.150]and finisher feed.
[00:53:18.930]Starter feed is the feed for the chicks that are young
[00:53:23.840]and finisher feed is feed for those that are coming
[00:53:27.800]or at the age of four to five weeks.
[00:53:31.940]Mostly, the layers lay about 90 to 92 eggs per day
[00:53:38.250]and those eggs are delivered to the RICA Cafeteria
[00:53:41.793]and we eat them.
[00:53:44.450]Broilers take about six to seven weeks to mature.
[00:53:48.880]After they mature, we process them and then we deliver it
[00:53:52.242]and sell it to the cafeteria.
[00:53:53.960]And that's means we eat them.
[00:53:55.436](upbeat music)
[00:54:03.274]The faculty and staff at RICA
[00:54:04.470]have been tremendously impressed
[00:54:06.310]with the resilience shown by students over the past year,
[00:54:10.050]under some very challenging circumstances.
[00:54:13.190]Students in both Nebraska and Rwanda have continued to learn
[00:54:17.700]and grow in unexpected ways.
[00:54:20.450]It's been exciting to see your dedication to learning
[00:54:23.740]and the growth you've experienced.
[00:54:26.292]The experiential learning expo,
[00:54:28.780]connecting CUSP students in Nebraska
[00:54:31.860]to RICA students in Rwanda, is an exciting opportunity.
[00:54:37.020]Students from Rwanda in both institutions
[00:54:39.500]are pursuing unique pathways to experiential education
[00:54:43.860]and connecting you in this way
[00:54:46.320]allows you to benefit from each other's experiences.
[00:54:50.140]Thank you for your willingness to share.
[00:54:53.260]These experiences will allow you to become the entrepreneurs
[00:54:57.160]and innovators that Rwanda needs for the future.
[00:55:00.299](upbeat music)
[00:55:02.220]CUSP and RICA students,
[00:55:03.610]congratulations on your accomplishments.
[00:55:06.930]We are proud of your hard work
[00:55:08.690]especially during the challenging year.
[00:55:11.150]During this challenging time,
[00:55:12.560]you have demonstrated your true character
[00:55:15.100]and responded with resiliency, inspiring innovation
[00:55:19.360]and remarkable determination.
[00:55:21.850]The experiential learning
[00:55:23.100]and career development components of your education
[00:55:26.390]are critical to your professional development,
[00:55:29.170]because it provides you with an opportunity
[00:55:31.350]to explore your passion
[00:55:32.740]and interests beyond the classroom, gain hands-on experience
[00:55:37.005]and connect your education and experiences at Nebraska
[00:55:41.670]and at RICA to the agricultural sector in Rwanda.
[00:55:45.590]These experiences
[00:55:46.710]will help you define your future career pathway.
[00:55:50.160]In closing, we are looking forward
[00:55:51.920]to seeing you work together to become change makers
[00:55:55.790]and implementing your projects and creative ideas
[00:55:58.590]to advance the agricultural sector in Rwanda.
[00:56:01.570]Again, congratulations.
[00:56:03.166](upbeat music)

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Summer 2020 Experiential Learning: Exploring Agricultural Opportunities in Rwanda

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