By Zablon Oyugi, July 18, 2024, One Acre Fund, an international social enterprise has forged a number of robust partnerships resulting into strategic investments and innovative approaches helping accelerate agricultural transformation for the benefit of smallholder farmers in Rwanda.
Operating under the local brand Tubura, which means ‘to grow exponentially’, the enterprise supports over 850,000 households across all rural districts in Rwanda, providing high-quality seeds, fertilisers, other quality-of-life products, and access to inputs financing.
Alongside transformative training programmes, Tubura works through field officers, district shops, and micro-entrepreneurs to enhance crop yields and uplift communities.
In 2023, Tubura generated USD 99.5 million in impact, as additional revenues for 763,316 farmers the programme served.
Collaboration with the Rwandan government
One Acre Fund collaborates closely with the Rwandan government and key stakeholders to enhance extension services, ensuring that agricultural innovations reach farmers across the nation. This commitment to improving food systems goes beyond individual efforts.
By partnering with the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) and Twigire Muhinzi, the public extension system, One Acre Fund amplifies extension services. They provide farmers with essential agronomy support, ensuring that innovation and assistance are accessible in every corner of the country.
Strategic investments
SRV, the investment arm of One Acre Fund, supports agricultural companies and offers customized credit solutions for sustainable growth.
Despite Rwanda’s annual avocado production surpassing 160 metric tonnes, approximately 30% remains unsold due to export rejections and surplus local output.
To address this issue, One Acre Fund and Impact for Africa (IFA) established Avocado Oil Industries Ltd (AOI) to produce premium avocado oil.
AOI aims to provide smallholder farmers with a reliable market while generating attractive returns for investors.
Growing the seed sector
In collaboration with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA), One Acre Fund is transforming the seed sector.
The RICA Seed Center offers seed companies access to parent seed and variety selection, professional training, infrastructure, and seed quality testing services, all aimed at providing farmers with affordable, improved seeds.
Last year, our potato seed venture produced 142 metric tonnes of disease-free seed, and our Professional Seed Certificate Program trained 16 participants.
Our partnership with Agro-Processing Industries and Western Seed Company supports Rwanda’s goal of maize seed self-sufficiency.
In 2023, this collaboration produced 2,285 metric tonnes of hybrid maize seed.
