Israel Africa | Business Guide | 2020

training, extension and transfer of new Israeli technologies. Projects are designed in host countries in cooperationwith local and international partners. The guiding principles of MASHAV’s projects are sustainability and replicability. The focus is on capacity building activities in areas in which Israel has comparative advantage and accumulated expertise. It is within this framework that MASHAV established an empowering project in Rwanda: The Rwanda-Israel Horticulture Center of Excellence, to serve as a regional demonstration and capacity building center to increase vegetable and fruits yields and productivity and improve quality. Agriculture is considered the backbone of Rwanda’s economy, contributing significantly to the country’s GDP and employing over 75 % of the country’s labor force, yet characterized primarily by subsistence farming and low productivity, relying heavily on erratic and unpredictable rainfall. TheRwanda-Israel HorticultureCenter of Excellence (CoE) is a bilateral initiative between theGovernment of Rwanda and the State of Israel, conceived as part of Rwanda’s Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy II, placing agriculture as a sector having great potential to reduce poverty and ensure that growth is inclusive. The implementing partners are MASHAV and Rwanda's Ministry of Agriculture andAnimal Resources (MINAGRI). The Center places special emphasis on building local capacities in agriculture and agricultural entrepreneurship, and is equippedwith advanced horticultural technologies. Located at theMulindi ExpoGround inWestern Kigali, the Center puts special emphasis on building local capacities in agriculture andagricultural entrepreneurship, and conducts appliedagricultural R&D inorder to adapt Israeli agricultural experience, technologies and innovations to local needs, serving all stakeholders in the horticultural sector, from smallholders to large commercial farmers. Rapid agricultural growth requires the introduction of new technologies and the dissemination of agricultural know-how, together with a strong emphasis on increased agricultural yields and crop diversification particularly by smallholder farmers. Themain goal of the project is to improve the technical and entrepreneurial capacities of the farmers and generate income by enabling them to obtain higher yields through diversification of horticultural production. The Center provides a suitable platform for a rapid transfer of knowhowonmodern Israeli agro-technologies and agricultural best practices to farmers, introducing improved quality varieties, demonstrating different possibilities of vegetables production (greenhouses, walk- in-tunnels, net house and open areas), and the utilization of modern irrigation and fertigation systems taking into consideration their adaptation to local conditions and farmers’ requirements. It covers also a crucial aspect of marketing agricultural produce by transferring post-harvest techniques for improved quality and longer shelf life. The project is accompaniedby aMASHAV long-termexpert and includes conducting professional capacity-building and training programs in both Israel and Rwanda, as well as on-site consultations by Israeli experts. It also promotes the creation of an efficient local ExtensionService in order to ensure an appropriate level of innovation and training for industry stakeholders, to provide specialized assistance and support applied research for local solutions. The constant spread of food, water, nutrition and health insecurity are a major concern for our rapidly growing planet. As resources dwindle and population rises, smart solutions for better agriculture are essential. More than three-quarters of the world’s poorest people get their food and income from small-scale family farming, most of them under difficult climatic conditions. Through this bilateral Israel-Rwanda initiative, MASHAV is realizing its mission of sharing Israeli innovative and affordable technologies and solutions, knowledge and expertise to support fellow nations, communities and individuals in their struggle to eradicate hunger and poverty, improve their livelihoods and achieve sustainable development and social equity. Head of MASHAV, Ambassador Gil Haskel, at the Center’s inauguration ceremony Boaz Medina, MASHAV’s long-term expert in Rwanda 27