Rwanda at a glance

Rwanda's population is approximately 13.2 million (2022), 65.3% under 30, and 56% aged 16-64 (NISR, 2022). Agriculture drives the economy, engaging 69% of the population. 64.2% combine farming and animal production, 26.8% focus solely on crops, and 9% specialize in livestock. Around 35.3% of non-labor force individuals are involved in subsistence agriculture. Modernization is crucial to uplift the population from poverty, especially among those in persistent poverty in agriculture.

Average economic growth stood at 6.1% (2013-2016) against an 11.5% target (2013-2020). Agricultural growth averaged 4.1%, industry 6.5%, and services 7.5%, all of which were below their respective targets.

Rwanda aims to become an upper-middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2050, as outlined in its Vision 2050 plan. Vision 2050 is built on pillars like quality of life, modern infrastructure, transformation for prosperity, values, and international cooperation.

Life expectancy increased from 49 to 69.6 years (NISR, 2022). Poverty declined from 60.4% (2000) to 38.2% (2016/2017), and extreme poverty dropped from 40% to 16%. Rural areas still face higher poverty (43.1%) than urban areas (18.1%).

Focuses on private-sector-led growth and enhanced productivity. Goals include promoting industrial development, expanding exports, improving trade-related infrastructure, and promoting sustainable resource utilization.

Agricultural sector general information

Rwanda's agricultural sector is the foundation of the country's economy and plays a critical role in promoting inclusive wealth creation, ensuring food security, and driving social transformation. As Rwanda works towards becoming a knowledge-based, high-income economy by 2050, agriculture will remain central to achieving these goals. In the 2023/2024 fiscal year, Rwanda made significant strides in agriculture, including advancements in infrastructure, irrigation, livestock distribution, and export performance. With the guidance of the Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA 4) and the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1), agriculture contributed 27% to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It employed 69.1% of the working population, while also supporting food security and improved nutrition.

However, despite these positive developments, several challenges remain that need to be addressed to sustain growth in the agricultural sector. These include:

1. Climate Change: Agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate variability, including droughts, floods, and unpredictable rainfall patterns. To ensure future resilience, climate-smart agriculture practices, such as drought-resistant crops and more sustainable farming systems, should be adopted to enhance the long-term sustainability of the agricultural sector.

2. Market Access and Value Chains: Smallholder farmers still face barriers to accessing larger markets and integrating into formal value chains. Investments in infrastructure, such as roads, storage facilities, and processing centers, are crucial for improving market access.

3. Land Fragmentation: As the population continues to grow, land fragmentation presents a challenge to efficient and scalable agriculture. Addressing this issue requires land consolidation and the promotion of cooperative farming models. Introducing Food Basket Sites and Agri Hubs will be key strategies for overcoming this issue.

Overview of The Fifth Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation PSTA5 (2024/25 – 2028/29)

The Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 5) for 2024/25-2028/29 aims to build resilient and sustainable agri-food systems to underpin Rwanda's continued economic and social progress. It adopts a holistic agri-food systems approach, recognizing the interconnectedness of agriculture with health, environment, trade, infrastructure, and other sectors. The PSTA 5 is guided by a theory of change that emphasizes connecting farmers to attractive markets as key to unlocking the agri-food system's potential. Linking farmers to lucrative markets, boosting their incomes and food security, enabling them to invest in improved inputs, technologies, and practices that increase production, reduce risks, and create more jobs across value chains.

This transforms agriculture into a more potent economic activity that fuels the entire agri-food system, improving food availability, access, and stability for consumers, leading to better food security and nutrition outcomes at the national level. The PSTA 5 provides a comprehensive framework to guide this collaborative effort to transform Rwanda's agri-food systems for a more prosperous, food-secure, and resilient future, with connecting farmers to markets as the catalyst for systemic change.

At the core of the strategy are innovative approaches such as the AgriHubs and food basket sites concepts, which will concentrate resources in specific production areas and foster synergies among agri-food systems actors to drive agricultural transformation in Rwanda, while leveraging private sector engagement. The forward-looking economy-wide simulation analysis highlights the transformative impact of the PSTA 5, by 2028/29. The agricultural GDP could grow by 8.0% annually, and exports could surpass $2.2 billion, and the prevalence of undernourishment could decrease from 30% to 15% below, which is a key driver to reducing child-hood stunting, similarly the percentage food insure HH will reduce from 20.4% to 10% and dietary diversity score will increase from 5.5 to 8.

The model also projects the contribution of primary agriculture transformation to off-farm employment, increased GDP per worker in agriculture, achieving 100% women's participation in agriculture with adequate empowerment, and the potential to achieve food self-sufficiency. The needed investment for the PSTA 5 is 6,406.5 billion Rwanda Francs.