Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA)

The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) is a pioneering higher education institution located in Karama, Bugesera District, dedicated to training the next generation of agricultural leaders through the principles of Conservation Agriculture and One Health. The institute offers a unique, three-year experiential Bachelor of Science program where students rotate through six "enterprises", including dairy, row and forage crops, and food processing, to bridge the gap between smallholder tradition and industrial agribusiness. RICA is world-renowned for its climate-positive campus, designed by MASS Design Group; the facility is entirely off-grid, powered by a 1.5 MW solar array, and built using 96% locally sourced materials such as rammed earth and quartzite stone, which drastically reduced its embodied carbon footprint. Under the leadership of Interim Vice Chancellor Professor Olusegun Yerokun (as of 2026), the institute continues to serve as a regional benchmark for sustainable development, aiming to restore more carbon than it emits by 2044 while empowering students with the entrepreneurial and scientific skills to address the twin challenges of land scarcity and population growth in Rwanda.