Gicumbi: Youth embrace climate-resilient pineapple farming
Youth in Gicumbi District are traditionally known for growing tea, coffee, Irish potatoes and onions. However, they say they have now ventured into cultivating a special variety of pineapples as a way to cope with climate change and a visit on the ground shows encouraging progress.
They explain that they have mastered hillside pineapple farming using Grevillea trees, which play a key role in soil conservation. The practice includes terracing and selecting improved, climate-resilient seedlings that are less affected by climate variability, especially during the rainy season.
On 20 January 2026, a Green Africa journalist visited youth groups working in Muko Sector, Mwendo Cell, and found that pineapple projects launched in 2022 have grown significantly. What started with just 400 seedlings has expanded to the point where they now harvest tons of pineapples, enabling them to pay the workers they employ.
The youth involved say they are passionate about pineapple farming and are calling for stronger support at the isibo (community cluster) level.
Muragijimana Cedric says he began pineapple farming in 2022 with 400 seedlings on rented land. Today, they cultivate about 20,000 plants and supply pineapples to hotels and other markets.
Beyond cultivation, they have also learned how to add value by processing pineapples into juice, while others are used to make tasty doughnuts that contain little sugar.
He said:“We started as a self-employment initiative to find our own solutions. We began with small capital and rented land, but over time we managed to buy land for farming. We were also supported to acquire a juice-processing machine, which allows us to produce juice from some pineapples and doughnuts from others, which are very popular.”
He added that they still face challenges in accessing higher-capacity juice-processing machines. The machines currently available to them cost about RWF 500,000, yet their goal is to acquire one worth around RWF 6 million, which would enable large-scale juice production for the market and eventually help them realize their dream of producing bottles or cups for packaging.
They farm in a valley they named Vision Valley, reflecting their ambition to one day establish a processing factory.
Ndizeye Vital, from Cyamuhinda Cell in Muko Sector, also emphasized that they decided to work hard and think creatively in order to change the mindset of their peers,many of whom say there are no jobs, or claim they cannot work in agriculture while waiting for salaries that match their level of education. He noted that some people still see farming as an activity reserved for older generations.
The representative of the National Youth Council in Gicumbi District, Basesayose Telesphole, said the visits to youth initiatives aim to monitor progress on performance targets (imihigo) within different community clusters, while also identifying challenges and jointly seeking solutions.
He said:“The objective is a program we call ‘Youth Unite at the Isibo Level,’ which seeks to assess where our activities stand and work together to address existing challenges.”
Youth in Gicumbi District recently won the national award for outstanding performance in imihigo. The district counts 124,259 youth operating across 21 sectors, 109 cells, 630 villages and 5,501 amasibo.
They have committed to closely monitoring their activities and working together to achieve their targets, starting at the isibo level.
