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FAO and UNDP in Rwanda launch activities on enhancing agrifood value chains in mountains

18.05.2022

Vestine Mukamurenzi is 36 years old, a beekeeper, honey producer and mother of two. She is one of eight women members of the Imbaraga Karambo Cooperative, located in the Gicumbi district of the northern province of Rwanda. She has been a beekeeper for the past eight years and counting.

“I always thank God that I was born in a mountainous country. I do not know what I would do without mountains, without forests,” said Vestine Mukamurenzi.

She added, “The money I get from selling honey helps me a lot to develop my household. I can provide good and enough food for the family, and I pay school fees for my children. Everyone is well clothed, and our house is well maintained. I am sure that without mountains, I could not achieve all that.”

The Imbaraga Karambo Cooperative produces 200 kilogrammes of honey every season. One kilogramme of honey sells for RWF 5000 (USD 5). The cooperative is one of many operating in Rwanda, the country known as the “land of a thousand hills”. Thanks to mountains, these cooperatives generate income from different bee products, including honey, beeswax and propolis (used in medicines), and other products such as royal jelly, pollen, bee venom and bee brood.

The International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development 2022

Vestine Mukamurenzi participated in an exhibition showcasing the quality of her products in Kigali, Rwanda. The exhibition was part of the celebrations of the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development 2022, where the “Enhancing agri-food value chains to increase the resilience of mountain communities” programme was launched. The programme is a joint initiative between the GEF Small Grants Programme implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS), which is hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This initiative aims at supporting Vestine Mukamurenzi and other farmers to achieve food security and increase the resilience of mountain communities.

Working together yields rewards for all

The UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), MPS and Slow Food International have been working together as part of the initiative “Enhancing agri-food value chains to increase the resilience of mountain communities” since 2020 to address the challenges mountain peoples and environments face.

In the framework of this initiative, beneficiaries of the UNDP-SGP will receive additional technical assistance by Slow Food and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat and will be included in the Mountain Partnership Products Initiative and Slow Food Networks. In particular, they will:

receive the Mountain Partnership Products narrative label, which tells the story of each product, enabling consumers to make informed purchases by learning about products' origins, processing, nutritional value and role in local cultures;
join the first international network of mountain-specific participatory guarantee systems created by the members of the Mountain Partnership; and
join other global networks, such as the Slow Food Chef Alliance and the Indigenous Terra Madre Network.

“I thank the United Nations and its agencies, especially the UNDP and FAO, for the tremendous work helping us support farmers who live in the mountains. When they are supported to make their businesses thrive, it enhances the ownership of other biodiversity preservation initiatives,” said Juliet Kabera, Director General of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority.

“Through this partnership with UNDP and Slow Food International, we have provided technical assistance, training and support to remote communities and farmers in Rwanda, ensuring that livelihoods are secured, and resilience is built and sustained,” said Otto Vianney Muhinda, Assistant FAO Representative/Programme.

“It is crystal clear that people who live in the mountains are doing well in small businesses; they are creating jobs. On our end, we are tasked to support them, to accompany them throughout their development journey. In so doing, we are supporting poverty eradication strategies and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals of the country,” said Maxwell Gomera, UNDP Resident Representative in Rwanda.

Mountains provide and regulate up to 80 percent of global freshwater resources. Mountains matter more for Rwanda and other mountainous countries. They support livelihoods through farming, grazing, tourism, and natural products. They are significant havens of rare and fragile biological diversity, with many species existing nowhere else.

Oringal news by FAO