SEAD NEWSLETTER -- 5th Edition -- January 2018

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Strengthening Education for Agricultural

Development (SEAD) Newsletter. This bi-monthly publication will give you

the project news, updates, stories and upcoming events. - The SEAD Team -

News from the SEAD Project

The Project Management Team of the SEAD project wishes all a very healthy,

happy and prosperous 2018. We are looking forward to work with all of you to

strengthen the capacities in the value chains, the agricultural sector and

contribute to food security and, whilst doing that, can truly support Rwandan

farmers, cooperatives and agribusinesses!

The last quarter of 2017 has witnessed a range of activities in the SEAD

project. We are very happy to see that the project managed to keep the

momentum that was created in the previous quarters. We strive to have 2018 a

year in which this continues and, with joint efforts, can even step up certain

interventions.

In this newsletter, short impressions are given on the various activities, one

being the Research Activities facilitated by Profs. Van Dijk (MSM) and De

Clercq (Stellenbosch). Others include the roll out of the tailor made training in

Financial record keeping for dairy farmers by Mark Bos (Q-Point) and the

training on composting that was facilitated by Jack Wanyonyi (Delphy) with the

great support of Dr. Guillaume Nyagatare (UR/CAVM). Preparatory missions

were conducted for the gender & inclusion component by Simone Langhorst

(Q-Point) and Roberte Isimbi (FATE) and for the development of the RTQF

curriculum in irrigation & drainage by Dennis de Jager (VHL). Consultative

meetings with stakeholders from the education sector, private sector & public

sector around the establishment of the STICs were facilitated by Martine de

Jong (Delphy). Armand Gaikema, senior programme officer of NUFFIC, who

manages the NICHE programme on behalf of the Netherlands Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, visited Rwanda in November. He monitored the various NICHE

projects (with an emphasis on SEAD) and collected inputs for a new capacity

development programme that The Netherlands government is planning to

launch: Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP). 2017 was concluded with

SEAD’s participation in the general assembly meeting of the Rwanda Poultry

Industry Association (RPIA).

Focus on one of the

international

Workshop and coaching

on composting

implementing partners:

Van Hall Larenstein

Van Hall Larenstein (VHL) is a

University of Applied Sciences,

founded over a century ago, with two

locations in the Netherlands: Velp

and Leeuwarden. We offer Bsc.

programs, Msc. programs and short

higher vocational training programs,

both nationally and internationally

oriented. We also conduct practice-

based research, which enhances

both our teaching ability and our

position as a research institute. VHL

is organized in three focus areas:

Food and Dairy, Animals and

Business and Delta Areas and

Resources. For an impression, see

the drone images of our university

and beautiful estate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time

_continue=1&v=94DSTrdjFyA. VHL has

been involved in various projects all

over the world for decades. We have

experience in capacity-building

projects in higher education in sub-

Sahara Africa, the Far East and

Central and South America. In the

SEAD project VHL focusses on

Value Chain management, Water

issues and Competence Based

The SEAD project supported the

training of farmers on composting in

two regions. Composting training of

farmers mainly focused on

techniques of composting, both

traditional and more experimental,

using waste flows from animal,

human and plant origins. The

training started with training of

trainers (ToT) which attracted 25

participants. The two day workshop

focused on (1) Training of Trainers in

the subject of Composting, including

a field visit; (2) Development of the

tailor-made training; and (3)

Development/Adaptation of training

materials. The remaining three days

focused on the roll out of the training

to farmers, cooperatives, and

agribusinesses ‘in the field’ by

beneficiaries’ trainers, coached by

facilitators.

Training of Trainers in Horticulture

The ToT that took place in Kigali on

11-12 December 2017 was highly

Teaching and education. We will

play a central role in the curriculum

development at the IPRC’s.

Geert Houwers is one of the VHL

experts engaged on the SEAD

project. My role is to make sure that

‘Value Chain’ thinking is truly

embraced, what are the ins and outs,

what are the challenges, what are

the opportunities….we make it work.

I am in a fairly unique position that I

have a background in both business

as well as education. After having

spent most of my professional career

in commercial businesses all across

the Tropics, I decided a few years

ago to focus on the spreading of my

knowledge and experience more

actively. Training new professionals

at VHL is one component, others

included projects like the SEAD

project. The common denominator in

all my endeavors is the ‘integrative’

way of thinking. Without the Value

Chain approach there is a big risk for

sub-optimization. Read more...

appreciated by the participants and

used inputs and case study material

provided by the farmers and

students undertaking courses in

relation to composting. Participants

included lecturers and trainers from

partner institutions UR, INES and

IPRCs. Also, some Master students

from the University of Rwanda doing

their research on composting were

trained. SEAD invited a Delphy

facilitator from Kenya, Jack

Wanyonyi, to conduct this training.

Participants were able to develop

their own tailor-made training

materials as well as adapt the

training materials for farmers in the

Rwandan content. Read more...

Research and Innovation

Capacity Development

In September and October, the

research teams were engaged in

preparing their proposals for

requesting funding from the SEAD

Research & Innovation Promotion

Fund. A total of 7 proposals were

proposed for funding to the technical

selection committee, that was

composed of Profs Van Dijk and De

Clercq as well as representatives

STIC Consultative

meetings

The SEAD project is actively

supporting the establishment of so-

called Service Training & Innovation

Centres (STIC), as an interface

mechanism between education

institutions, the public sector and the

private sector. As follow up of the

exposure visit to the Netherlands in

September, the SEAD project

organised consultative meetings on

building business models for STICs

in November.

Visit of the Poultry Training Centre at Nyagatare

University

Relevant stakeholders for each of

the Value Chains were invited to

collaborate on a road map for the

establishment of the STICs. The

meetings took place in Musanze,

Huye and Nyagatare. During the

consultative meetings, facilitated by

Martine de Jong of Delphy BV, the

stakeholders were guided through

from the PMT. The successful

projects, that received a funding of

approximately € 5,000 each,

included 1) Impact of poultry cages

on increasing of poultry production in

smallholder poultry farmers in

Nyagatare district; 2) Phenotypic

characterisation and on-farm

production performance of

indigenous chicken in Rwanda; 3)

Landscape-based assessment of

rainwater harvesting and storage

technologies and their impact on

carrot production in Musanze

District; 4) Effect of intercropping

cabbage with onion as a pest control

measures.

Professors Van Dijk and De Clercq facilitating the

RICD workshop

Case study: Southern province of

Rwanda; 5) Effects of drip irrigation

management on growth and yield of

beetroots; 6) Factors affecting potato

the essentials on business models

for a STIC and discussed in small

groups about the framework of the

STIC. More specifically on: Read

more...

Gender equality and

inclusiveness

awareness

The SEAD project contributes to the

mainstreaming of gender equality

and increasing gender sensitiveness

in (the management of) curriculum

development, training of trainers,

applied research and outreach

services. In November 2017 a

mission was organized to update the

status on gender activities of the

beneficiary institutions and to make

recommendations for follow-up

actions to be conducted under

SEAD.

Gender Equality and Inclusiveness consultation

Experts involved were Roberte

Isimbi local gender expert from Fate

production in Rwanda and 7) Effect

of using feed calculator Broiler

Ration vs. Commercial Feed ration

on Broiler Chicken Production in

Rwanda. We are looking forward to

seeing the results of these

interesting, and very relevant,

projects by March 2018. The SEAD

Newsletter will certainly share these!

Merger of IPRCs to

improve education

quality

After the law establishing the

Rwanda Polytechnic Higher Learning

Institution was gazetted in 2017, the

appointment of senior management

signaled a new phase. Under the

Rwanda Polytechnic, that has a

combined student population of

160,000 students, 8 colleges are

resided, including the College of

Kigali, College of Ngoma, College of

Karongi, College of Huye, College of

Tumba, College of Musanze, College

of Gishari, and the College of

Kitabi.The College of Kigali (formerly

IPRC-Kigali) is likely to host the

headquarters of the new institution of

higher learning.

Consulting specialized in

mainstreaming gender, training and

awareness raising, Adriana van

Ommering, Mott MacDonald project

director and senior consultant with

years of gender equality experience

in African projects and Simone

Langhorst, senior consultant and

gender expert of Q-point, a Dutch

based consultancy firm involved in

capacity building in Africa. To

determine general problems in

implementation of gender policies

and to determine possibilities for

crosscutting support the team held

interviews with (top)management of

the diverse institutions and

representatives of specific

departments. Also, students and

members of gender student clubs

gave their input. Sex-disaggregated

data was collected to establish a

baseline; a starting point to measure

if gender activities will lead to

improved results. Read more...

The new institute, during the

transition phase headed by the

director general of WDA and a vice

chancellor, has clearly shown its

ambitions from the start. Among

these, closer collaboration with the

private sector to ensure quality

students placements for internships

and training; strong support toward

the Made-in-Rwanda campaign and

engaging qualified private individuals

to help in practical training. The

various responsibilities that lay within

the mandate of the workforce

development authority (WDA), have

now shifted to the Rwanda

Polytechnic. Read more...

Collaboration between SEAD and the Rwanda Poultry Industry

Association (RPIA)

With the worldwide food security emerging as a major policy issue,

strengthening and optimizing key agriculture value chains is of growing

importance. SEAD is strengthening the capacities of the actors in 4 value

chains, among which the poultry chain. For establishing the highest impact, it is

important that the project engages with all actors in the chain, from service &

input providers, to farmers, cooperatives, processors, traders and, not to forget,

the customers. Having a single point of access into

the value chains is a deliberate strategy of the project,

witnessed by established collaboration with

IMBARAGA Farmers’ Organisation and the Rwanda

National Dairy Platform. For the poultry chain, the

SEAD project engaged in a collaboration with the

Rwanda Poultry Industry Association (RPIA), of which Mr. Jean Claude

Ruzibiza is the president.Read more...

Picture above: Rwanda Poultry Industry Association

Tailor made training in financial record keeping for

dairy farmers

In October, we also had the tailor-made training on financial record keeping for

dairy farmers. The training was facilitated by Mark Bos, from consortium partner

Q-Point. The week started off with training of trainers’ sessions with participants

from UR/CAVM, Musanze Polytechnic, IMBARAGA Farmers’ Organisation and

RAB (Northern Zone). In the ToT, the training programme for the roll out to

dairy farmers was further prepared, especially in collecting financial data from

invited farmers to establish a benchmark. The remainder of the week was used

to deliver the training on financial record keeping to a group of 20, very

enthusiastic and active, dairy farmers. The training showed that there are still

challenges around, trustworthy, data (or databases) for benchmarking and the

collection thereof. It also showed that presenting the results of data collection,

farmers are very much triggered to provide financial data and encourage

colleagues to participate in data collection activities.

Pictures above: Tailor made training in financial record keeping for dairy farmers

RTQF curriculum development Irrigation & Drainage

Dennis de Jager, senior lecturer IWRM at Van Hall Larenstein University of

Applied Sciences, visited a number of institutions that play, or will play, a role in

the development of the RTQF curriculum in irrigation & drainage. Meetings at

IPRC South and Musanze Polytechnic, both pioneering in irrigation & drainage,

provided valuable information on the programmes that are already in place at

TVET level, albeit at level 3 or (as far as advanced/diploma level is concerned)

not formally placed on the RTQF yet. For the purpose of aligning the RTQF

advanced/diploma curricula in Irrigation and Drainage to the degree

programmes, the mission also included a meeting with a team from INES-

Ruhengeri, the land- & water management institute, who shared their wealth of

experience and materials of irrigation & water engineering related programmes.

To complement the view on what is happening at university level, Nyagatare

campus was visited where discussions were held with the Dean and Heads of

Department involved in the irrigation & drainage programmes. Separate

meetings were set up with the VPAT and teams from both IPRC East and Gishari

Integrated Polytechnic. Read more...

Picture above: RTQF curriculum development Irrigation and Drainage

AGENDA & UPCOMING EVENTS

30th January 2018: The 4th Annual EPRN conference will take place in January

2018. The topic will be “ Growth trajectories, relevancy of home-made solutions

and regional integration”, which will be broken down into subthemes:

• Productivity, Industrialization and competitiveness

• Made in Rwanda

• Regional Integration

• Public policies for growth

https://allevents.in/kigali/4th-annual-eprn-conference/113626859237082

22-22 February 2018: AWFP Kigali 2018AWFP will be hosting the 1st Annual

Conference in Kigali, Rwanda on 21-22 February 2018. This is the official

Inaugural event for AWFP launch. This is the 1st ever African-wide Conference

specifically focused on Women working in FinTech (Payments). The

conference will bring together women from all over Africa for a full day event.

The conference will feature interactive panels, deep-dive workshops, and

plenary sessions with industry female leaders. https://allevents.in/kigali/awfp-

kigali-2018/159146221358112#

6-8 March 2018: Customer Experience Chapter Rwanda.Rwanda’s long-term

development goals are defined in the “Vision 2020” strategy. The strategy

seeks to transform the country from a low-income agriculture-based economy

to a knowledge-based, service-oriented economy with a middle-income country

status by 2020. The country is committed to becoming a service-based hub to

serve the East African region in order to break its landlocked nature.

https://seraphnetwork.com/customer-experience-chapter-rwanda-2018-6-8-march-

2018-kigali/

SEAD activities:

• 29 January-2 February 2018: Feasibility study of the Horticulture STIC

(commissioned by the Netherland Enterprise Agency, RVO), by Martine

de Jong & Norbert van der Straaten (Holland Greentech)

• 5-9 February 2018: Tailor made training on Dairy Farm Record Keeping,

by Mark Bos (Q-Point)

• 9 February 2018: Conference of the Rwanda National Dairy Platform

(with participation of RAB, RSB, MINEACOM, PSF)

• 12-16 February: continuation of the RTQF curriculum development in

irrigation & drainage by Dennis de Jager (Van Hall Larenstein)

• 12-16 February 2018: continuation of the gender & inclusiveness

interventions by Isimbi Roberte (FATE)

• 19-23 February 2018: Tailor made training on the Irish Potato Value

Chain by Mink Vermeer (Delphy)

• 26 February-1 March 2018: Kick off workshop of the 2nd cycle of the

Research Innovation Capacity Development by Profs. Van Dijk (MSM) &

De Clercq (Stellenbosch)

• 2-6 March 2018: Closing workshop of the 1st cycle of the Research

Innovation Capacity Development

• 5-9 March 2018: Career Information Advice & Guidance mission Rita

van Deuren (MSM) and Hermine de Wolf (Van Hall Larenstein)

• 12-16 March 2018: Tailor made training on the horticulture value chain

by Joe Coetsee (Delphy)

• 19-23 March 2018: Joint event with the Water for Growth project

(W4GR) in the context of the international water week

Upcoming SEAD newsletter:

• 16 March 2018: Readers interested in including an editorial in the next

newsletter are invited to send their contributions before 12 March 2018

Sign up to the SEAD Newsletter

Are there persons in your network who would like to be updated on the

developments in the SEAD project? Contact John Mugabo

(john.mugabo@mottmac.com or 0785 282 077) and sign up!

Join the SEAD WhatsApp group

Do you want to receive short updates on the daily activities taking place in the

SEAD project? Join our SEAD WhatsApp group!Contact John Mugabo

(john.mugabo@mottmac.com or 0785 282 077) and join!

Go to the SEAD Public Site

SEAD is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the NUFFIC

Netherlands Initiative for Capacity development in Higher Education (NICHE)

programme, and implemented through a partnership between the Capacity

development and Employment Services Board (CESB) and Mott MacDonald in consortium

with Delphy BV, Maastricht School of Management, Q-Point BV, SNV Netherlands

Development Organisation, Stellenbosch University, Delft University of Technology and

Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences.

Our mailing address is:

SMO-NICHE268Rwanda@365site.mottmac.com