Fourth Cohort of African Food Fellowship Graduates, Showcasing Bold Solutions for Rwanda’s Food Systems

The graduation of the fourth cohort of the African Food Fellowship took place on Friday August 8, 2025 at Norrsken House, bringing together policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and civil society actors committed to transforming Rwanda’s food systems.


The event marked the completion of an eight-month program where 27 fellows from across the country deepened their leadership skills and developed practical projects tackling issues in access to nutritious food, sustainable land use, food technology and trade, and, for the first time this year, climate-smart agriculture.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr Ingabire Chantal, Director General of Planning at The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources underlined the urgency of cross-sector collaboration. She also stressed that the Ministry values these efforts because “they align with our vision for a sustainable and inclusive agricultural sector”.

The African Food Fellowship, which began operations in Rwanda in 2021, works to equip leaders from different sectors with the capacity to bring systemic change to the country’s food system. Fellows meet both in person and online, exchanging ideas and receiving mentorship from local and international experts, including Wageningen University & Research (WUR)in the Netherlands.

Projects with impact

Among the graduates is Protais Habanabakize, Director Programs at Action pour la Protection de l‟Environnement et la Promotion des Filières Agricoles (APEFA), whose project Fruit and Nutrition Training Hubs – Empowering Smallholder Farmers for Resilient Food Systems focuses on improving farmers’ income and community nutrition.

“Farmers in my community grow fruit, but many don’t know how to maximize its nutritional value or market it effectively,” Protais explained. “By creating training hubs, we’re teaching better cultivation, post-harvest handling, and the link between fruit consumption and health.”

Another fellow, Jean Pierre Dusabimana from Gardens for Health International, is working with maize farmers to reduce pest-related losses through his project Organic Integrated Plant Protection and Pest Management for Maize.

“Many farmers still rely on chemical pesticides that can harm both the soil and our health,” Jean Pierre said. “We’re showing them organic alternatives that work, and can be cheaper and safer in the long run.”

These and other projects benefit from seed funding through the Fellowship’s Food System Action Fund, which enables fellows to test and refine their ideas before scaling them.

Building a collaborative approach

African Food Fellowship Rwanda Lead Anisie Ishimwe said the program is about more than technical solutions. “In the past, agriculture was often approached only through value chains,” she noted. “Now we look at nutrition, environmental sustainability, and consumer well-being, which requires working across ministries, sectors, and disciplines.”

As the fourth cohort transitions from the program into implementation, the Fellowship will continue providing mentorship and technical support. The fifth cohort, set to start in September, will bring in 41 new fellows from different regions and sectors, many of them working in climate-smart agriculture.

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