By Seif Shaggy Gracien Hasingizwimana/Kigali,Rwanda,
A modern nursery for agroforestry, fruit, and forestry tree seedlings has been launched in the City of Kigali. It will produce over one million seedlings annually to help increase the city’s green cover, provide high-quality seedlings, combat malnutrition, and strengthen resilience against climate change.
The Country Director of One Acre Fund in Rwanda, Belinda Bwiza, stated that the idea to build this nursery began more than three years ago with the aim of improving Rwanda’s access to high-quality seeds and tree seedlings.
She noted that over the past 10 years, One Acre Fund has planted more than 145 million trees and helped over two million farmers across the country.
“As we continued to expand our capacity to provide seeds and tree seedlings, we saw it as necessary to extend these activities to the City of Kigali,” she said.
Belinda Bwiza also mentioned that although One Acre Fund’s operations primarily focus on 27 rural districts, there was a need to bring them to Kigali due to the impacts of climate change that continue to affect all citizens.
She highlighted that rising temperatures and climate change require increasing the number of trees in the City of Kigali to help mitigate these impacts and build a city with a well-preserved environment.
The Minister of Environment, Dr. Arakwiye Bernadette, stated that this nursery supports the Government of Rwanda’s agenda to protect the environment and promote good nutrition.
“This is a significant step in the Government’s journey towards urban environmental conservation, fighting climate change, and combating land degradation,” Dr. Arakwiye said.
Dr. Arakwiye added that the nursery will also help fight malnutrition and improve the livelihoods of households in the City of Kigali and its surroundings.
The Director General of RFA, Dr. Concorde Nsengumuremyi, said that the nursery will propagate all types of trees, including forestry, fruit-bearing, and indigenous species.
“It will help us solve the shortage of fruit seedlings that used to be a particular challenge in the City of Kigali,” he said.
He further noted that plans are underway to start distributing trees for the forest planting season in September, adding that residents who used to struggle to find fruit trees will now access them easily.
“There are avocado and mango trees, and we plan to include others. There are also 17 indigenous tree species, including agroforestry trees and those that enhance urban beauty,” Dr. Nsengumuremyi stated.
In addition to providing seedlings, the facility will serve as a site for research and educational study tours to assist those wishing to learn about forestry management, covering an area of more than 21 hectares.
According to RFA, Rwanda has about 500,000 hectares of forested land, which still needs to be expanded to double the required number of trees.
The institution also notes that over 65 million trees were planted in 2025, while the target for this year is to plant more than 100 million trees.
This project was implemented through a partnership between the Ministry of Environment, Tubura (One Acre Fund), the Rwanda Forestry Authority (RFA), and the City of Kigali.
