Prime Minister Dr Justin Nsengiyumva has said Rwanda plans to scale up climate-resilient agriculture to boost production, improve farmers’ livelihoods and attract more investment into the sector.
He made the remarks while attending a high-level dialogue on climate-resilient agriculture in Antalya, Türkiye.
Addressing participants, Nsengiyumva said climate change continues to affect Rwanda’s agricultural sector, with delayed rainfall and increasingly intense downpours damaging farming activities, reducing yields and affecting household livelihoods.
He stressed that agriculture remains central to the livelihoods of Rwandans, particularly rural households, making sustainable investment in the sector essential to achieving the country’s development ambitions.
He noted that Rwanda’s ambition to become a high-income country by 2050, as outlined in Vision 2050, cannot be achieved without addressing the effects of climate change.
To advance this ambition, Rwanda has put in place various policies and institutions, including strategies for promoting green growth and climate resilience, mobilising climate and environmental financing, and the Rwanda Green Fund, which supports environmentally sustainable initiatives.
Green Gicumbi project cited as an example
Nsengiyumva cited the Green Gicumbi project, supported by the Green Climate Fund, as an example of what can be achieved when climate resilience initiatives are integrated with community development.
The project aimed to strengthen the climate resilience of approximately 249,000 people in Gicumbi District, representing nearly two-thirds of its population.
Its interventions included constructing terraces on hillsides, protecting water sources and relocating households living in disaster-prone areas to homes designed to withstand climate-related risks.
He said evaluations showed that the interventions helped promote environmentally sustainable farming practices, improve food security and strengthen households’ ability to cope with climate-related shocks.
However, he noted that lessons from the project showed that improving climate resilience alone was not enough. Farmers also need access to markets, credit and opportunities to participate in agricultural value chains.
Rwanda plans to scale up interventions nationwide
The Prime Minister said Rwanda could no longer rely on implementing climate resilience programmes in isolated districts, as climate change does not respect administrative boundaries.
He explained that the country is moving away from pilot projects towards large-scale programmes that can be implemented across the country.
The expansion will be guided by the Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) and the Fifth Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture (PSTA5).
The two frameworks set targets for increasing the production of major food crops by more than 50% by 2029, achieving annual agricultural sector growth of over 6%, and doubling agricultural exports and private sector investment in the sector.
He said achieving these targets would require coordinated efforts involving government institutions, private businesses, banks, cooperatives and international development partners.
He emphasised that grants should support project preparation and help reach vulnerable communities, while concessional loans and development finance institutions would provide the resources needed to establish and expand investments.
Nsengiyumva called on investors and development partners to support the initiative, noting that Rwanda has established policies, capable institutions and coordination mechanisms that bring together development programmes and partners, creating an enabling environment for scaling up climate-resilient agricultural projects.
