Rwanda, often called the “Land of a Thousand Hills,” is a small East African country renowned for its lush landscapes and agricultural productivity. However, with the intensification of climate change, women who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods are facing unprecedented challenges. In a country where over 70% of the population depends on farming, the effects of climate change are particularly harsh on women, who are both primary food producers and key economic actors in the agricultural sector. The Strain of Unpredictable Weather Climate change in Rwanda manifests through erratic…
SOMA INKURUCategory: Environment
They laud the benefits attributed to the conservation of Birunga Park
By Diane NKUSI NIKUZE Rwandan Government established policies and measures meant to protectand conserve and countering the decrease in biodiversity, as a result, its enshrined in the Vision 2050, where its anticipated that Rwanda will be driven by an economy which will be environment friendly, and resilient to climate change. Its in that context that the residents of Nyange and Kinigi Sectors in Musanze District formed different Cooperatives, and among them include the ex-poachers, and today they are proud of the benefits they attribute to the protection the biodiversity in…
SOMA INKURUClimate change takes Centre stage at water congress in Kigali
As the 2023 Water and Development Congress began in Kigali on Sunday, December 10, officials said climate change was “the biggest” hindrance to universal access to water and sanitation in both developed and developing countries. The congress organised by the International Water Association (IWA), the Rwandan government and the Water and Sanitation Corporation Group (WASAC) has attracted up to 1,000 delegates, including policymakers, water utilities corporations, academics and technologists and private sector and civil society players. It takes place as 26 per cent of the world’s population (two billion people)…
SOMA INKURUGMO: One of the pillars of food security
BY NIKUZE NKUSI Diane Many of us have heard the term “GMOs,” but how many of us know what they are as well as their benefits to the food supply and the environment? GMO (genetically modified organism) technology uses specific scientific innovation to genetically alter plants and promote desired characteristics. For example, these characteristics can help fruits and vegetables grow better under environmental stresses like drought, ward off crop diseases and pests and even forgo browning in fruits once they are sliced. This technology also decreases food waste, gives…
SOMA INKURUFighting malnutrition: Golden Rice and the EU’s GMO conundrum
“This rice could save a million kids a year”, read the July 2000 cover of Time Magazine, referring to a genetically modified rice, “Golden Rice”, that had been biofortified with life-saving nutrition. But in the nearly two decades that have passed since then, the cultivation of genetically biofortified crops, such as Golden Rice, to help solve the global humanitarian crisis of “malnutrition” remains elusive. One major reason for the delay has been the systematic opposition to all forms of GMOs and genetic engineering by radical interest groups including Greenpeace and…
SOMA INKURUIkoranabuhanga mu buhinzi n’ubworozi niyo nzira yahisemo
NISHIMWE Aimable ni umuhinzi mworozi wabigize umwuga ku myaka 23, nyuma yo kurangiza amashuri yisumbiye muri scince (PCB), akaba afite Company “PRE EMINENT Ltd” ikora ubuvumvu mu karere KARWAMAGANA, umurenge wa KARENGE, akagari ka BICACA. umudugudu wa RUNZENZE agamije gufasha abaturage bo mu RWANDA kubangurira ibihigwa hakoreshejwe inzuki bityo umusaruro w’ibihigwa ukiyongera ari nako umusaruro w’ubuki uboneka ku isoko. NISHIMWE yatangaje ko yatangiye n’ubworozi bw’ingurube anabufatanya no gutanga serevisi zo guhugura urubyiruko mu gukoresha imirasire y’izuba mu kuhira, anahugura urubyiruko uburyo bwo gukoresha ikoranabuhanga mu buhinzi anabahishurira amahirwe ari mu…
SOMA INKURUYouth, key actors on strengthening the use of biotechnology in agriculture- Dr NDUWUMUREMYI
By Diane NIKUZE NKUSI The growth rate of the world population continues to increase day by day. World population projected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050 as United Nations revealed. It means that the resulting in a serious need to increase agricultural production by all means, among them there is the use of modern biotechnology in the production of genetically modified crops. This will mean obtaining sufficient, healthy, safe and nutritious food needed to feed the world’s growing population. Since Rwanda’s population is made up of young people, they can bring innovative…
SOMA INKURUHow GMO crops could boost yields, save crops from pests and diseases in Rwanda
By Diane NIKUZE NKUSI Genetically modified crops known as GMOs could increase agriculture production, address pests and diseases that attack crops and scientists have assured that they don’t pose threats to human health. GMOs are products of Agricultural biotechnology-an area of agricultural science involving the use of scientific tools and techniques, including genetic engineering, molecular markers, molecular diagnostics, vaccines, and tissue culture, to modify living organisms namely plants, animals, and microorganisms. Dr Athanase Nduwumuremyi, Coordinator of Roots and Tubers Program at Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB)…
SOMA INKURUIn Rwanda, the impact of climate change on agriculture is questionable
By Gaston RWAKA The whole world continues to worry about climate change, in Rwanda, farmers have started to face a lack of rain when they should have started planting seeds. The expansion of large-scale energy-intensive industries and the lack of forest conservation are some of the human activities that pollute the environment and have a significant impact on climate change. In an interview with umuringanews.com, Ngarukiye Athanase, a resident of Kayonza Sector, Musumba Village, who earns his living from agriculture, says that if the weather does not rain, hunger will…
SOMA INKURUDR Congo: Indigenous Communities claim Justice in loss of their forests due to climate change
By Diane NKUSI NIKUZE Indigenous communities in the DR Congo have decried threats to the forests of the Congo Basin, which has increasingly come under pressure from timber merchants from around the world. While deforestation in Democratic Republic of CONGO is on the steady rise, the autochthone communities fear soon they may not have anything left of their heritage. The Democratic Republic of Congo contains around 60% of the forests of the Congo Basin, and contribute to the carbon storage capacity. There are three groups of indigenous peoples in…
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