Minister of Agriculture Ildephone Musafiri
The Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources of Rwanda, Hon. Ildephone Musafiri, has outlined five key investment opportunities in Rwanda’s agriculture sector worth a total of $785 million under the FAO Hand in Hand Initiative.
Rwanda, committed to sustainable development and economic growth, is inviting investors to participate in its transformative journey. These investments align with Rwanda’s agricultural transformation goals, focusing on increasing productivity, creating jobs for women and youth, expanding irrigated land, and building resilient, sustainable agri-food systems.
The investment opportunities presented by Rwanda within the Hand in Hand Initiative are as follows:
• Tea: An investment totaling USD 289 million aimed at leveraging Rwanda’s favorable tea-growing conditions and growing global demand. The plan includes producing 300 million tea seedlings, expanding tea cultivation across 17,000 hectares, and establishing a new tea factory in Nyamagabe District. Additionally, investments will be made in feeder roads to ensure efficient supply chain logistics.
• Livestock: An investment of USD 169.8 million targeting poultry and pig production to meet rising domestic and regional demands. Planned interventions include establishing a layer chicken hatchery, a breeding farm, a feed processing plant, and silo storage facilities for poultry and pig feed. Model poultry and pig farms will also be developed.
• Potatoes: An investment of USD 63.8 million to support the expansion of potato production and processing for local consumption and export. This includes producing early generation potato seeds such as tissue culture plantlets and micro-tubers, establishing standardized storage facilities, and setting up a potato processing plant.
• Horticulture: Investments totaling USD 222.3 million, including USD 40.5 million for avocado production hubs focusing on orchard plantations, and USD 181.8 million for chili peppers targeting high-value markets.
• Beef Production: An investment of USD 40.2 million to develop commercial beef production systems. Suitable sites have been identified in the Gako and Gabiro agri-hubs, with investments planned for cattle restocking, a modern slaughterhouse, an animal feed mill, and hides and skins processing.
The Minister emphasized that these investment opportunities are ripe, inviting investors to participate in Rwanda’s agriculture through the Hand in Hand Initiative, contributing not just to business growth but also to the sustainable development of the nation. Rwanda aims to foster an innovative environment that attracts investment, ensuring a thriving agricultural sector.
All five investment opportunities are aligned with Rwanda’s Fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 5) for 2024-2029, themed “Building resilient and sustainable agri-food systems.” Agriculture remains the backbone of Rwanda’s economy, crucial for its socio-economic transformation, women’s economic empowerment, and youth employment. Nearly 69% of Rwandan households are engaged in agriculture, according to the Fifth Population and Housing Census (2022), with approximately 400,000 people employed in agri-food systems. (End)