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Cedric Habiyaremye

2016 Fellow, Spring
Country: 
Rwanda
University: 
Washington State University
Department & Degree: 
Crop Science, PhD Candidate
US Mentor institution: 
Washington State University
CGIAR Mentor Institution: 
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Research: 
Assessing the Adaptability of Quinoa, Proso and African Millets in Rwanda and Understanding the Current Situation of Millet and Adoption of Quinoa in Farming Communities in Rwanda

Cedric Habiyaremye is a PhD Candidate in Agronomy/Crop Science  at Washington State University (WSU). Fueled by his past as a young refugee, he vowed that when he grew up, he would study agriculture so he can improve agricultural systems and fight against hunger in his home country of Rwanda and other countries in Africa.  Today, he is an accomplished agricultural consultant and researcher working in higher education and international agricultural development. His area of community development expertise includes women and youth empowerment in Agriculture, health, entrepreneurship and SME development, and career advisory and youth employment.

Habiyaremye earned his MSc in Crop Science from Washington State University in 2016 and BS in Agricultural Science with Honors in Irrigation and Drainage from Higher Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (ISAE-Busogo), Rwanda in 2013. His PhD research focuses on agronomic practices of small grains such as quinoa, millet, and food barley to enhance the nutrition and utilization of novel and sustainable food and farming systems through interdisciplinary approaches: crop diversity, food science, and social anthropology.   His Borlaug LEAP fellowship enabled him to return to Rwanda to conduct field trials and to work with Dr. Eliud Birachi of CIAT-Rwanda. His US mentor is Dr. Kevin Murphy, a  professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics at WSU.

In addition to his Borlaug LEAP fellowship, Habiyaremye has received a number of other awards. He is a 2017 U.S. Borlaug Summer Institute on Global Food Security Fellow, a WSU Department of Crop and Soil Sciences Mug Award Recipient 2017, a Fellow of the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development (AIARD)/Future Leaders Forum (FLF), Class of Leaders, 2015 and a WSU College of Agricultural Human and Natural Resource Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Team Award recipient, 2015 (Quinoa Research and Extension Team). He serves on the Board of Directors of Building Bridges with Rwanda and committee member of CAHNRS Student Experience Advisory Council. He also serves as a member of the 2019 Global Food Security Report Task Force of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.