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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
([email protected] or 0785 282 077) and sign up!
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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
([email protected] 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.
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