An ambitious project that aimed to reverse massive malnutrition and stunting among students in schools across Rwanda is battling for it’s survival in Gatsibo District.
Taarifa Investigative Desk has discovered that this nutrient-rich school feeding project is being frustrated by the District’s unreasonable bureaucracy, wrath of some corrupt officials demanding for kickbacks, threatening of project managers and arrears piling up.
Paper trolls seen by our Investigative team indicates there is an intended long-term agenda to hijack the project after its five-year contract with the district expires. Agreement was signed on 30th December 2024.
Ndagiwenimana David and Karire Honette the founders of AIRIF Group Ltd (Agriculture Innovation Raising Farmers and Food Processing) have for the past two years been crisscrossing from office to office at Gatsibo District Headquarters, submitting paperwork requisitioning payment for supplied vegetables to over ten schools but no cash has been transferred to their pockets.
Taarifa Investigative team hooked up with a frustrated Karire at the district offices as she attempted once more to secure payment of arrears amounting to over Rwf 14million worth of vegetables supplied to ten schools in Gatsibo District.
Karire has written to district authorities requesting them to compel schools to pay for her company services including; supplied vegetables and fruits.
Surprisingly the schools acknowledge they owe money to AIRIF Group ltd but are not paying up. This is the bone of contention between the schools and AIRIF.
“I have been coming to Gatsibo twice every week. I’m so exhausted but won’t give up. I need to pay workers at schools where we grow the vegetables. I also have an outstanding bank loan for this project,” a clearly worn-out Karire tells our team on Thursday.
College ADEGI gituza, Epem ngarama, Gs mulinga, Gs Gakenke,Gs Rutenderi,Gs Gakoni,Gs Isangano,Gs Bihinga,Gs Ruhuha and Gs Rubona are the ten schools that have signed contracts with AIRIF Group Ltd.
The agreement requires that that school offers some land space on which AIRIF can grow vegetables. The vegetables are directly harvested and cooked at the same school as part of improving nutrition uptake from school meals served to students.
The school is required to pay two workers that maintain the vegetable gardens including an Agronomist that trains these workers.
“It is cheaper for the schools to produce and access the vegetables instead of buying them from markets,” Karire explains the motivation for the ambitious project.
Under this AIRIF arrangement with Schools, Karire says , “we can reduce malnutrition and stunting among our children.”
She adds that AIRIF is also working with dozens of schools across other districts in the country and the nutrition program has been successful there except for Gatsibo District.
Taarifa has also observed that in some Gatsibo schools vegetable gardens have been abandoned. In some instances AIRIF has terminated contracts with a School.
For example AIRIF wrote to Gakoni Catholic school in Gatsibo on 22-May -2025 informing management of termination of contract.
“Following unsuccessful repeated attempts to engage with school management that refused to respect it’s part of the agreement, we hereby inform you that AIRIF has terminated contract with the School. You are required to pay the two workers and the Agronomist by 30th May 2025,” reads part of the letter received on the same date by Director of studies at the school.
Under the current situation, AIRIF managers have been blocked from entering any of the ten schools in which they operate the vegetable gardens.
“In one school the attendant to the garden has been hired as a guard at the school. The gardens has been abandoned,” Karire told our team.
Some of the schools have told Karire that she won’t enter their school premises until the district resolves their issues.
Karire revealed to Taarifa that she petitioned the district over the matter. District auditors were constituted to conduct a detailed audit.
One the district auditors denigrated Karire telling her to go read Genesis 6:6 which states, “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.”
“I don’t understand what this auditor insinuated by referring me to the Bible verse. What does have to do with requesting for payments for the work we are doing with Schools, ” Karire wondered.
Humiliating Offer
According to Karire one of the district officials told her to surrender the project to him. “He told me I would be offered a RWF 500,000 monthly salary and remain working for the project,” Karire wondered how all her efforts with the project had come to such low level.
For Karire, “If only I would get paid what they owe me.”
According to her, the district authorities keep requesting her to submit for the same document she has provided over and over again.
“This seems an endless venture. I have submitted all the paperwork required and am told to return days after to be told to submit the same documents they already have and signed that they received them,” Karire says.
With the prolonged delay in complying with payments, the nutrient-rich program in the ten Gatsibo schools is gradually collapsing.
In some of the schools, harvest is being poorly handled as some vegetables have been found rotten and dumped away.
“It’s hurting to see vegetables rotting away instead of feeding them to students,” Karire noted in a lengthy conversation with Taarifa.
