Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages

The Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages (PEARL) is a project to promote agricultural improvement in Rwanda.

The goal of PEARL is to assist the nation of Rwanda in its efforts to rebuild from the impacts of the Rwandan Genocide and civil war of 1994. PEARL works with rural communities across Rwanda to generate revenue through the development of agricultural products and market linkages.

PEARL is funded by the United States Agency for International Development and led by researchers at Michigan State University, Texas A&M University and various Rwandan bodies including the National University of Rwanda, the Agricultural Research Institute of Rwanda, the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management and the Rwandan National Coffee Board. University resources are channelled directly into rural areas to promote agricultural improvement and increase revenues.

The project is working with grower cooperatives on the production and marketing of various agricultural products, with the current focuses on coffee and cassava products. Increasing attention to quality control and consistency in production has led to success in worldwide exports. An example of such success is the production and sales of Maraba Coffee from Maraba, Rwanda.

The current PEARL Director is Dr. Timothy Schilling.

External links

* [http://www.pearl.org.rw/ Official web site of PEARL project]
* [http://www.iia.msu.edu/pearl/ PEARL Webpage] (Michigan State University)