Partnership to Enhance Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL)

The Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL) is assisting the nation of Rwanda in its efforts to rebuild from the impacts of the war and genocide of 1994. PEARL works with rural communities across Rwanda to generate income through product development and market linkages. The project is working with grower cooperatives on the production and marketing of specialty coffee and cassava products. With increasing attention to quality control and consistency in production, the customer base has expanded steadily and now includes importers in the U.S., E.U., and Africa. These are among the guiding principles for PEARL success as a model for agricultural outreach and technology transfer.

The PEARL project is working with Rwandan agricultural institutions to rebuild their educational and research capacities. Sixteen faculty and researchers from these institutions are receiving MS degree training in agricultural sciences at Michigan State University and Texas A & M, including extension and outreach training. With the assistance of the PEARL project, Rwandan partner institutions are seeking to develop close linkages with rural communities in order to respond and contribute to the long-term development needs of those communities.

Our primary partner institutions in Rwanda are: The National University of Rwanda Faculty of Agriculture (NUR), The Agricultural Research Institute of Rwanda (ISAR), The Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and OCIR-Café (the Rwandan National Coffee Board).

For additional information, contact the PEARL office at:

Institute of International Agriculture
319 Agriculture Hall, Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 U.S.A.
Telephone: (517) 355-0179 Fax: (517) 353-1888
E-mail: weight@msu.edu

Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Cooperative Agreement No. 623-A-00-04-00003-00