On December 11, 2018, stakeholders in agriculture sector attended a one-day forum on Agriculture and Agribusiness Sector in Kigali to discuss Rwanda’s agriculture development as one of the important sectors that is driving the country’s transformation.
Organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and the World Bank, and held under the theme “Agriculture and Agribusiness Development-Catalyst for Economic Growth,” the forum was meant to strategically assess what needs to be done to facilitate the commercialization of agriculture and crowd in the private sector investments in the agriculture sector.
Speaking during the event, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr Gerardine Mukeshimana, noted that the government highly appreciates the contribution of the Private sector in the agriculture development.
Private investments increased from 513 million USD in 2012/13 to 774 Million USD in 2017/18; which is an investment of about 52.2 million USD per year in average.
“These numbers are highly commendable and working more together we are capable to increase them far beyond these by addressing the common challenges include limited use of modern agro-inputs, limited access to finance, weak access to markets, limited mechanization, under developed irrigation systems, inadequate extension services, and ensuring value addition of agricultural commodities (agro- processing) for enhanced intra-Africa trade by focusing on agriculture infrastructure development as well as preventing post- harvest losses,” Minister Mukeshimana said.
In 2017, the Rwanda Agriculture sector contributed 31 per cent to the GDP, and through private sector, Agriculture generated $ 356.5 million through exported traditional and non-traditional export commodities. The sector is also key in improving the livelihoods of Rwandans as it employs 58 per cent of the Rwandan working population.
Minister Mukeshimana added: “The Government of Rwanda is committed to play its role of creating an enabling environment for a greater performance of the sector as we are convinced that successful agriculture transformation will be achieved through strong partnerships between the State and the Private players.”
The recently developed strategic plan for agriculture transformation (PSTA 4) puts the private sector development in its center.
The PSTA 4 expects to have an investment from the private sector of a value of 522.2 million USD, which is an average of 86 million USD per year which means a yearly investment increase of by 67% from the current investments. On its side, the Government is committed to set up various instruments to ease doing business in agriculture sector.
Source:MINAGRI
