2011 Borlaug LEAP Fellow Gerardine Mukeshimana has been named the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) in Rwanda.  Dr. Mukeshimana was sworn in along with other members of the cabinet on July 24, 2014, a day after President Paul Kagame appointed Anastase Murekezi as the country’s new Prime Minister.

Rwanda’s New Times newspaper is reporting that the cabinet appointments are strategic and timely.  President Kagame has emphasized his commitment to achieving results with the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS 2).  The main objective of EDPRS 2 is to put Rwanda on a higher growth trajectory to become a middle-income country by 2020.

“It’s a results-oriented cabinet.  Ministers have been put in their positions to ensure that they deliver efficiently,” Dr. Karambizi, political science don at Kigali Independent University.

Most recently, Dr. Mukeshimana was a post-doctoral scientist at BecA Hub, the Biosciences eastern and central Africa facilities located at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya.  USAID played a major role in Dr. Mukeshimana's professional development through her involvement with several USAID sponsored initiatives. To find out more about Gerardine Mukeshimana, visit her Borlaug LEAP profile page.