News stories by Aimable Twahirwa, page 4

NYABIHU, RWANDA, Sep 30 (IPS) - Laurent Hategekimana, a villager from Nyabihu, a district from Western Rwanda, recalls the terrible condition of the Gishwati natural forest a few years ago when it was overrun by illegal loggers and invading farmers.

KIGALI, Rwanda, Jul 22 (IPS) - Rwanda is trying to reduce post-harvest loss by relying on new technologies to increase the amount of food available for consumption and help smallholder farmers confront some challenges caused by the overproduction of staple crops.

KIGALI, Oct 30 (IPS) - An ambitious programme aimed at developing six green secondary cities in Rwanda is underway and is expected to help this East African country achieve sustainable economic growth through energy efficiency and green job creation.

KIGALI, Oct 12 (IPS) - In a move to achieve its green growth aspirations by 2050, Rwanda has placed a major focus on promoting project proposals that shift away from "business as usual" and have a significant impact on curbing climate change while attracting private investment.

KIGALI, Sep 25 (IPS) - When Telesphore Ruzigamanzi, a smallholder banana farmer from a remote village in Eastern Rwanda, discovered a peculiar yellowish hue on his crop before it started to dry up, he did not give it the due consideration it deserved.

KIGALI, Aug 29 (IPS) - When Telesphore Ruzigamanzi, a smallholder banana farmer from a remote village in Eastern Rwanda, discovered a peculiar yellowish hue on his crop before it started to dry up, he did not give it the due consideration it deserved.

KIGALI, Aug 07 (IPS) - Akaliza Keza Gara is only 27, but she's achieved much for women in Rwanda's technology sector in just a short space of time.

KIGALI, Mar 28 (IPS) - It's almost 20 years now since Sylidio Gashirabake, a Hutu, was a perpetrator in Rwanda's genocide. It's also almost 20 years since his neighbour, Augustin Kabogo, a Tutsi, lost his sister and family in the violence. But today, both men work side-by-side in their joint business venture in Kirehe district in southeastern Rwanda.

Governments, especially in Africa, need to have strong accountability measures in place in order to effectively reach women in rural areas through gender responsive budgeting.

Rwanda is the first country in the world where women outnumber men in parliament, with women occupying 45 out of 80 seats. However, despite this, experts say that the country still needs a gender equality perspective on how national resources and programmes are implemented.