KIGALI, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Inside a training room in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, discussions on food, farming and technology unfolded as participants listened, asked questions and shared experiences with Chinese experts.
For Rwandan professionals attending the course from Aug. 19 to Sept. 17, the training offered more than lessons in food preservation and processing technologies; it also provided an opportunity to reflect on the challenges facing Rwanda's agricultural sector.
Among them was Judith Niyonsaba, a food science and technology graduate working at Rwanda's Inyange Industries, a local processing plant. As the training progressed, lessons on fruit and milk processing and cold-chain systems increasingly connected with the challenges she encounters in her daily work.
During prolonged dry seasons, she said, milk availability can decline, while fruits such as pineapple and passion fruit may become insufficient to meet the needs of processors. Farmers need more knowledge and techniques to increase production and preserve the quality of what they produce.
"I have learned a lot, and I wish to get more skills and knowledge from this training," Niyonsaba told Xinhua during the Overseas Training Course on Agricultural Product Processing and Preservation Technology for Rwanda.
Other participants described similar moments of learning and reflection. Roger Kayijuka Ndayishimiye, a monitoring and evaluation specialist at Rwanda Mountain Tea Ltd., said the training introduced participants to technologies that could help modernize Rwanda's tea sector, including approaches for monitoring pesticide residues and rapid testing for food safety.
"It is very helpful to me, my company, and even the whole country, because we got to see different technologies that can be applied to further modernize the tea sector," Ndayishimiye said.
The training, sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and organized by China National Research Institute of Food and Fermentation Industries Corporation Limited (CNRIFFI), brought together 30 participants from Rwandan public institutions, research institutes and enterprises.
Bernard Rwubatse, head of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Rwanda, said the training had strengthened his knowledge and would support his research and knowledge-sharing activities.
He said the training demonstrated how modern technologies can improve food safety and quality as Rwanda moves from traditional to modern agricultural processing, adding that participants had been introduced to "reliable and sustainable technologies that can help maintain the safety and quality of processed products."
Jean Modeste Uwitije, a specialist in crop harvesting and post-harvest handling technologies at the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board, emphasized the importance of reducing waste while creating additional value from agricultural products.
"The by-products of agro-processing will be very impactful to us so that we avoid different waste and losses. And also we add value to different commodities," Uwitije said, noting that Rwanda's growing population requires increased food production and better use of available agricultural resources.
Peng Hao, director of the Department of International Cooperation of CNRIFFI, said the program represented another in-depth collaboration between China and Rwanda, aiming to share China's technologies and experiences in agricultural product processing and preservation with Rwandan practitioners.
He said similar training courses had been held in Rwanda in 2019 and 2024, with Chinese experts in agricultural processing, preservation, and quality and safety inspection invited to provide targeted teaching and practical guidance based on Rwanda's agricultural development needs.
Olivier Kamana, permanent secretary at Rwanda's Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, said the training came at a critical time for Rwanda's agricultural transformation.
"Under the Fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation, Rwanda has placed value addition, agro-processing, post-harvest management and productivity growth at the center of its vision to build a resilient, competitive and inclusive agri-food system," Kamana said. ■