Chinese Government provides $4.5 million grant for Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center Project

Following an agreement made during the 2006 Beijing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the Chinese Government provided a $4.5 million grant to the Government of Rwanda for the Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center Project. However, the grant did not disburse until August 20, 2008.

The purpose of the project was to construct Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center in Rubona within Huye district in Rwanda’s Southern Province (exact locational coordinates: -2.5939974, 29.6900391.

The center, which is now known as the China-Rwanda Agriculture Technology Demonstration Centre (C-RATDC), consists of a production workshop, agro-products processing workshop, silkworm raising rooms and offices.

It occupies an area of 22 hectares of land, and includes facilities for juncao technology for mushroom growing, paddy rice farming, water conservation and sericulture-related technologies. Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University was responsible for project implementation. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 2, 2009.

The construction of C-RATDC was completed and officially launched on April 24, 2012 in a ceremony attended by Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Shu Zhan and Rwandan Prime Minister Habumuremyi.

As of September 2021, C-RATDC had held more than 57 training courses on paddy tice, upland rice technology, juncao technology, soil and water conservation and sericulture technology. The center promotes 6 rice varieties and 3 upland rice varieties; 12 edible mushroom species and 5 grass species.

The most impactful part of the C-RATDC is reportedly juncao technology, a Chinese mushroom cultivation technique that has benefited many farmers in Rwanda.

Juncao is a Chinese word meaning the use of herbaceous plants as the culture substrate for cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms. It was invented in 1983 by Lin Zhanxi, a Professor at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. In Rwanda, juncao technology is the most developed component of the C-RATDC.

It has been promoted to more than 3,800 farmers, and more than 50 companies and set-employed individuals have been supported in the production of juncao mushroom substrate bags.

C-RTADC aims to be economically viable, cohesive and sustainable diversified demonstration centre that uses good agricultural practices to produce high quality rice seeds, mushrooms varieties, land husbandry and new cocoon eggs varieties to improve farmers’ livelihoods and insure food security in Rwanda.

Its mission is to promote market-oriented agriculture through appropriate agricultural technologies enabling farmers to increase their income, access job creation and business opportunities.

As of September 2021, the center has conducted 48 training courses on juncao mushroom technology with more than 1879 participants, including farmers grouped into cooperatives and individual farmers, agriculture technicians, agronomists, university students, and health counsellors.

Most of these training courses are held at C-RATDC headquarters, but sometimes Chinese experts join the farmers at their respective villages to train them in collaboration with Rwanda Development Board.

The mushroom training curriculum covers the whole process of seeds production for cultivation and mushroom growing technology.

The trainees are acquainted with Juncao grasses planting, grinding, mixing and substrates packaging, sterilization, inoculation and mycelium management, mushroom shed construction, planting and fruit body management, mushroom harvesting and processing, mushroom nutrition value and mushroom cooking, and mushroom diseases and insects control.

C-RTADC is also involved in experimentation to find some new mushroom varieties that are suitable for cultivation in Rwandan climate conditions.