China's Juncao Technology Inspires Rwandan Technician to Start Mushroom Business

Emmanuel Ahimana, Once a mechanical technician of a sugar factory in western Rwanda, established a company in 2016 that applies Chinese-invented Juncao technology to grow mushrooms.

He learned Juncao technology from the Chinese experts while working with them from 2008 to 2016 as a Juncao worker. He founded his Juncao company by his personal savings because of his passion in working in Juncao sector and profits it could bring. He hires two permanent staff and 30 casual laborers for mushroom business and the number of the employees could increase during the harvest.

After four years development, the company’s production capacity of mushroom packs has increased from about 1,500 to 2,000 per month at the beginning to current 10,000 packs per month. Mushrooms grown by the company are now sold to local customers in bulks, who then resell them to hotels, supermarkets as well as Rwandans and foreigners in local markets. Before COVID-19, they were also exported to the neighboring Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Juncao business helps the entrepreneur create jobs, generate incomes, improve nutrition and soil management. 

For more information, please contact WFP China COE (wfpcn.coe@wfp.org)