Jean-Claude Kayisinga is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Institutional Development at Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA). Before joining RICA, he served as the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources for the Government of Rwanda, where he managed budgets and operations while coordinating key technical activities and ensuring effective sector management. Prior to the role, he held the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), focusing on marketing to enhance Rwanda's agricultural exports. 

Mr. Kayisinga also served as the Country Director of the Clinton Foundation | Clinton Development Initiative in Rwanda, overseeing the foundation’s country operations related to agriculture. He has held, for more than 12 years, leading roles, as Chief of Party and Deputy Chief of Party for USAID-funded agriculture value chain development projects through Michigan State University and The Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University. Notably, he was part of a team that played a pivotal role in introducing specialty coffee production in Rwanda, transforming the lives of Maraba coffee farmers, and creating a new model for coffee farming and centralized post-harvest processing for export.  

Mr. Kayisinga holds a BSc in Soil Sciences & Rural Engineering from the University of Rwanda and a Master’s Degree in Agribusiness (MAB)  

from Texas A&M University, USA. He has also served as a Lecturer at the University of Rwanda for 15 years.