Every afternoon, the Kotibanya Cooperative in Rubavu District in Rwanda’s western region is a beehive of activity. The air is filled with the sounds of laughter and lively chatter as farmers offload sacks of fresh produce.
From carrots, cabbages, onions, and beetroots to cauliflower, everywhere you look is a vibrant display of colours as farmers proudly showcase their harvest.
Inside the collection centre, women meticulously clean the vegetables, preparing them for the market while the men sort and package what’s ready for transportation.
Established in 2013, the cooperative was meant to connect local producers with consumers and markets within and outside the country. Yet the road wasn’t always smooth.
For years, the cooperative struggled with challenges in production, postharvest handling, and market access, as well as limited knowledge of sustainable farming.
This began to change two years ago, when the farmers began receiving training on regenerative agriculture practices—methods that enhanced soil health and productivity through techniques like composting.
"Before the Good Food for Cities (GFC) project was introduced, we did not know much about regenerative agricultural practices because we relied on chemical fertilisers, which depleted our soils over time,” says Jean D’mour Fils Habumugisha, president of the cooperative.
The shift towards sustainable agricultural practices saw farmers embrace composting, crop rotation, and other regenerative methods, which dramatically increased their yields. This surge in productivity has fuelled the cooperative's growth, attracting new members.
“With the increased production and expansion of membership, our cooperative now collects up to 40 tonnes of carrots per day, up from just eight tonnes in 2019. Our biggest market is Kigali, where we send at least five trucks full of vegetables per day,” says Habumugisha.
The cooperative also embraced contract farming by establishing agreements with buyers and transportation services, securing consistent market access. This stability ensured that cooperative members received fair, timely payments without worrying about unscrupulous buyers.
"We have team at the cooperative responsible for tracking all produce brought by farmers to the collection centre and monitoring what goes to the market. Due to these arrangements, our farmers are confident of getting their income and no longer meet any losses from buyers who used to cheat us,” Habumugisha says.
Funded by the Belgian Government an organisation known as Rikolto and implemented by Kilimo Trust, the project seeks to increase production and commercialisation of affordable, healthy, and nutritious food produced using regenerative and other sustainable production practices.
Famous for its fertile volcanic soils and favourable climate, Rubavu District has become Rwanda's top vegetable producer, driving local agriculture and playing a crucial role in the country's food supply.
This agricultural productivity not only sustains local demand but also boosts exports to neighbouring Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Agricultural products are among Rwanda’s key exports. In the 2023/2024 financial year, data from the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) shows the country generated $839.2 million from agricultural exports.
Despite this abundance, Rubavu faces alarming rates of malnutrition, especially among children under five years, making it the district with the highest cases of malnutrition and stunting in the country.
The stark reality in Rubavu highlights a troubling imbalance. Vegetables are low in calories but high in nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and fibre. And while farmers in the region produce them in plenty, many households still face food insecurity and poor nutrition.
A significant proportion of the community sells their agricultural produce for income, often leaving them without sufficient nutritious food for themselves.
“Malnutrition and stunting are persistent challenges in this region, and it’s deeply troubling that, despite our land’s productivity, so many families struggle to access the nutrients they need,” says Ishimwe Pacifique, vice mayor in charge of social affairs in the district.
“That is why we’re working closely with development partners, including Kilimo Trust, to educate our communities on nutrition and promote more balanced diets.”
Many farmers in the region sell more than 85 percent of their homegrown vegetables, leaving their families with less varied, less nutritious diets and at risk of malnutrition.
Farmers view a kitchen garden in Rubavu District. So far, more than 2,000 farmers in the region have started their own kitchen gardens at home.
Photo credit: Pool
“When we began, our focus was on helping the farmers to improve the productivity and incomes from farming vegetables by empowering them with regenerative agricultural practices, proper postharvest handling, and linking them with markets. But we immediately realised that they were also struggling with nutritional issues,” says Thomas Gahimano, an Agronomist with Kilimo Trust.
“We decided to incorporate an aspect of nutrition in the project, through which we are sensitising communities on the importance and components of a well-balanced diet. It’s very important for us to strike the balance between earning a living and having healthy families.”
To accomplish this, the project is working with community leaders who lead the sensitisation efforts in each sector—the smallest administrative unit in the country.
“Before working with Kilimo Trust, many people in Rubavu District believed that a meal of potatoes and beans was sufficient. Now, we understand that vegetables are essential and should be part of every meal,” says Daniel Mutabazi, the president of Cooperative des facilitateurs agricoles de Rubavu.
So far, more than 2,000 farmers in the region have established their own kitchen gardens at home. One such farmer is Murangamirwa Bernadete, who takes care of her three-year-old grandchild in the Bugeshi sector at the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“We no longer have issues of poor feeding because we learnt how to cook a balanced diet. We now know the importance of carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins in our diets. When I am cooking, I make sure all nutrition components are considered so that my household eats a balanced diet,” she says, adding that the good agronomic practices she has learnt have also improved the productivity of her vegetables, especially cabbages.
The project has also partnered with local schools to establish school kitchen gardens where the students get a hands-on learning experience on the principles of a balanced diet and sustainable practices, including soil health, water conservation, and biodiversity.
This initiative not only supplies fresh vegetables for school meals but also cultivates a generation of informed and proactive young people who understand the significance of sustainable food systems.
“We are confident that the knowledge the students acquire in school on kitchen gardens can also be utilised at home by helping their parents establish the kitchen gardens and prepare healthy and nutritious meals,” Gahimano says.
So far, the initiative has been implemented in 16 schools, while it will be scaled up to 54 more. Schools avail space for the demos; students bring compost from their homes and provide labour, while the project provides seeds and technical assistance.
Across Africa, Across Africa, malnutrition remains a significant challenge, with an estimated 86 million children below five facing various forms of malnutrition, according to the African Union.
The GFC Project, which runs from July 2022 to June 2026, has also introduced new technologies such as charcoal coolers that help reduce the post-harvest handling issues faced by both farmers and traders of the vegetables in the district.
