In Rwanda, agriculture contributes 27% to the GDP and employs approximately 56% of the active population.
The government is increasingly seeking the involvement of private operators in the development of this sector.
New Strategic Plan
A new five-year plan aimed at developing the agricultural sector will be implemented from July 2024 to 2028. This was reported by the local daily The New Times on June 24th, citing Chantal Ingabire, Director General of Planning at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources.
Financial Framework
This new roadmap, known as the 5th Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA 5), has a total estimated cost of 7,000 billion Rwandan francs ($5.4 billion). The private sector will finance 53% of this amount, while the remaining portion will be covered by the government’s contribution.
Private Sector Leadership
“We want the private sector to lead the implementation of this strategy. The government will be the facilitator of the plan’s execution,” Ingabire stated.
The planned interventions target three priority areas: modernizing agriculture and animal production to enhance resilience to climate change, improving post-harvest management, and strengthening facilitators (innovations, extension services, local advice) within agri-food systems.
Growth and Employment Targets
With the implementation of PSTA 5, the government aims to achieve an annual growth of 8.2% in agricultural GDP, compared to the 1.7% reference level recorded in 2023.
The strategic plan also aims to create more than 644,000 non-agricultural jobs in agri-food systems to combat unemployment, particularly in rural areas and among young people.