Noel Ujeneza

Agriculture Consultant

Noel has been in the Agriculture Sector in Rwanda and the Africa Great Lakes region for the last 18 years. His expertise includes value chain and agri-food market analysis, Private Sector Development, Agribusiness valuation, regional and global trade, Advocacy support, Investment appraisal, Policy analysis, export promotion, and import substitution.

He has been working as an independent consultant for the last five years, conducting short-term technical assignments and designing specific strategies that positively impact remote areas' small-scale farmers and other rural entrepreneurs. His recent achievements include the strategy to substitute the massive fruit and vegetable imports, opportunities for horticulture exports, and an entire system to improve maize aggregation.
Before (2003 – 2015), Noel worked for six years with IFDC as a Value Chain Advisor for IFDC in Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Uganda, and six years with Caritas as a Head of the development department, leading poverty reduction and food security activities. Through the process, he progressively gained vast knowledge and experience in value chain development, intensive farming on small lands, and rural development within the Africa Great Lakes region..
Throughout the years, Noel has had the opportunity to conduct dozens of market and value chain analyses and provide technical assistance to improve the way markets work for poor smallholder farmers, facilitating cross-border trade and strengthening value chains competitiveness. He gained a profound understanding of the agricultural market and agronomic knowledge of all agricultural value chains in Rwanda, neighboring countries, and a few western African countries.
Noel holds a Master's in rural economics and sociology (2006) from both Gembloux Agrobio Tech and Louvain-la-Neuve Catholic University (Belgium) and an engineering degree in Soils Sciences and Rural Engineering (2003) from the National University of Rwanda. He speaks French, English, and native Kinyarwanda.