Broke, I left for Kigali, now I export veggies

After the 2007/08 post-election violence, William Macharia found himself jobless. He was working as a technical advisor in an agricultural company in Mount Kenya that was growing vegetables for export, but folded due to post-poll pressures and uncertainity.

With tension all around the country, he thought it wise to search for a job outside the country. With Rwanda having joined East Africa Community in 2007, there was free movement of people and goods from the partner states and opportunities were numerous.

"After being advised by a friend in the Diaspora, I came to Rwanda in 2010 by bus through Uganda, a long and torturous journey. But it was worth it," says the 46-year-old farmer.

Green opportunities

And arriving in Kigali, settling and getting a job was not as smooth as he envisioned. But he was determined to make it.

"I got a cheap accommodation but it was not easy getting a white-collar job. Having realised that, I started hawking shoes in the streets of Kigali that I had bought from Kenya. I did hawking for three months before I was able to save up some cash," says Macharia.

With a Diploma in sustainable agriculture and a Bachelor's degree in Business Studies and Economics, he knew his long-term interest was in agribusiness given the opportunities around.

Keep trying

One time, he saw an advert for a job at an agribusiness company - Balton Rwanda Ltd - and decided to give it a try. After rigorous interviews, he got a job as an agronomist and then later rose to a chief agronomist opening his eyes to numerous opportunities. It was during one of the training sessions with students in 2014 that he caught the eye of a couple of investors from America, who later partnered with him in 2016 to start Sunripe Farms Rwanda, the now thriving agribusiness he manages.

Slowly by slowly, together with his business partners, he has grown agribusiness into a formidable agri firm. Thanks to a favourable government policies and climatic conditions, the team has established a horticultural farm that sits on 80 acres with 17 greenhouses.

Crop rotation

"We grow habanero chilies, sweet peppers, English cucumbers, sweet melons and cherry tomatoes. On another section of the farm, we practice open farming where we do crop rotation for potatoes, cabbages and French beans," says Macharia, who also doubles as a farm manager.

With time, the business grew and he expanded to exporting to European markets.

After Sunripe stabilised, together with Dutch national Norbert Van der Straten, they formed Holland Greentech, which supplies the farm and others outside Rwanda with inputs, technology and equipment.

"After careful research, we noticed a market gap and filled it. We created products that fit in," says Macharia.

So far, the company has provided jobs for 300 young people, with 20 being permanent and the rest hired based on demand.

Being an export firm, they are constantly updating their technology to meet international standards for quality.

"We use greenhouses because they help us to keep our products safe from pests and to meet other export standards that are strict on pesticide use," he says.

Climate change has affected rainfall patterns and to address that they have installed rainwater harvesting technology in their greenhouses and invested in a sand dam to store water.

Business in Rwanda

One of the reasons why horticultural farming thrives in Rwanda he says is because of an ideal climate, fertile soils and a youthful and hardworking labour force. Rwanda's economy remains predominantly dependent on agriculture, with nearly 90 per cent of rural households involved in small-scale farming on small pieces of land according to the World Food Programme.

Diplomatic guests

Though things are looking up, he admits that challenges are there.Irregular rainfall, drought, floods, pests and disease attacks, together with limited land for agriculture are some of the challenges that farmers like him face.

But all is not lost.

"Here the government has taken up large blocks of land and supports farmers to farm. It provides subsidised inputs including fertiliser and other incentives and farmers have been organised into cooperatives for stronger bargaining power when accessing markets. The cooperatives have also helped fix the issue of exploitation from middlemen," says Macharia. He also believes that greenhouse farming provides his farm with a buffer against the effects of climate change which has seen the region experience longer and instense seasons of drought.

"We ship out 600 kgs of chilies, 500 kgs of peppers and 1,000 kgs of onions every so often. In January we harvested 3,000 tonnes of sweet pepper. We harvest twice a week for like six before the next cycle," he says.

His story and business model is so impressive it has attracted the eye of diplomats and other influential figures.

In February this year, Kenya's acting High Commissioner to Rwanda Philip Githiora paid the farm a courtesy call.

"It was exciting to see our ambassador taking time off and visit us. We have also hosted American and Dutch ambassadors," he says.

In future, he plans to set up a similar establishment in Kenya.

"I have plans to establish greenhouse farming to help my community achieve food security".