Regional agribusiness cluster development specialist – Kigali, Rwanda
I am passionate about introducing new innovations. In Togo, I developed the yellow maize value chain/cluster. Chicken farmers want this maize variety because its yellow color improves the color of the egg yolk and consumers prefer eggs with yellow yolk. These eggs are more expensive, and maize farmers are getting better prices when growing yellow maize instead of white maize.
Udo Rüdiger is a regional agribusiness cluster development specialist based in Kigali, Rwanda. He is responsible for advising IFDC’s national project teams in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kivu region) as well as stakeholders on the development of agribusiness clusters and agricultural value chains.
He began working with IFDC in 2006 while employed by the German Development Service (DED) as an agribusiness cluster advisor and national coordinator in Togo. In 2008, he joined IFDC’s team as an international contractor.
Rüdiger has more than 10 years of experience in Africa’s agriculture sector. At DED, he trained Benin’s local non-governmental organizations on generating farmer incomes and assisted with a natural resource project involving erosion control in Burkina Faso. Prior, he was an agricultural teacher at a senior school in Botswana.
His background in smallholder farming and agribusiness is strengthened by his work at IFDC. To date, he has supported the development of 27 agribusiness clusters. He currently works with IFDC’s CATALIST project to identify, test and introduce new technologies enhancing the agricultural value chain. He recently helped introduce the direct paddy seeder, a device that reduces post-harvest losses.
Rüdiger holds a master’s degree in international agriculture from the University of Kassel, Germany.
