Minutes of official launch of the project: Rwanda Biotech Capacity Building (BioCap)

On 15 December 2025, Rwanda officially launched the Rwanda Biotech Capacity Building (BioCap) Project, a national initiative designed to strengthen the country’s scientific capacity to develop improved, disease-resistant, and climate-resilient varieties of potato, cassava, and banana. Led by the International Potato Center (CIP)
in partnership with the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), the launch convened government officials, scientists, development partners, and donors, highlighting a collaborative commitment to advancing biotechnology in Rwanda. Other key partners include the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Michigan State University, and the Alliance for Science Rwanda.
Discussions at the launch emphasized that BioCap is firmly grounded in public interest, focusing on ensuring that farmers have access to safer, more resilient crops and that families can rely on sufficient, nutritious, and affordable food. The event highlighted Rwanda’s long-standing commitment to nationally led, responsibly governed biotechnology initiatives that translate research into tangible benefits. It also drew attention to the urgent challenges facing the country’s staple crops: potatoes suffer heavy losses from late blight, cassava is threatened by brown streak and mosaic diseases, and bananas remain vulnerable to Xanthomonas Wilt and Fusarium Wilt.
BioCap positions Rwanda as a regional hub for safe, climate-smart biotechnology, complementing the country’s climate adaptation strategies while delivering tangible benefits to farmers and food systems. Through BioCap, Rwandan scientists will receive advanced training in genetic transformation, gene-editing technologies, molecular breeding, and pathology, enabling the development of disease-resistant, climate-resilient, and farmer-preferred crop varieties.
Beyond crop improvement, the project is expected to reduce reliance on fungicides, lower production costs, increase farmer incomes, and enhance Rwanda’s competitiveness in regional markets, while also delivering environmental benefits such as cleaner soils and waterways, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthened biodiversity. The establishment of a Center of Excellence for Crop Biotechnology at RAB Rubona, combined with strong support from national and international partners, marks a transformational moment in Rwanda’s agricultural research and innovation journey.