This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.
Last Published: 7/11/2019

Agriculture Sector

Overview

Agriculture has served historically as a mainstay of Rwanda’s economy.  Contributing one-third of Rwanda’s GDP and employing approximately 70 percent of the country’s working population, it remains a key sector in Rwanda’s efforts to foster private sector development.
Agriculture is a priority sector in Rwanda’s Vision 2050 national development strategy.  The government aims to replace subsistence farming with a fully monetized and technology intensive commercial agriculture and agroprocessing by 2050.  Principal agricultural exports are coffee, tea, and some value-added agricultural products such as canned tomatoes, honey, French beans, passion fruit, macadamia and mushrooms.  Rwanda export a large number of live animals,  unprocessed meat and dairy products across the border to eastern DRC.  The increase in flight routes in and out of Rwanda with RwandaAir and other carriers to Europe and Asia has facilitated an increase in fresh agriculture products exports from Rwanda. Rwanda presents a number of advantages in Agriculture.  Its high altitude and temperature allows year-round cultivation.  In 2018, a study sponsored by USAID identified export opportunites in fresh crops such as passion fruit, snow peas, chili and  mushroom.  Ther are also opportunities in input provisoin, crop aggregation for export and cold chain logistics provision.  Rwanda will need to increase the extent of cultivated land under irrigation, while importing increased amounts of inputs, such as seeds, fertilizers, and small-scale machinery, to achieve its value-added agricultural development goals.  Rwanda is landlocked and land is divided into small parcels which poses a challenge to large commercial farming but can allow specialty crops.
Agriculture Sector Profile
 20142015201620172018
Total Local Production*1,394billion RWF= $2,048,605,1401,547billion RWF= $2,273,452,046n.an.an.a
Total Exports**$212,298,182$237,569,586$247,775,529$356 million***n.a
Total** Imports$348,907,737$323,019,921$321,950,589n.an.a
Imports** from the US
 		$648,925$1,565,246$1,357,207n.an.a
Total Market Sizen.an.an.an.an.a
Exchange Rates680 RWF = 1USD716 RWF = 1USD789 RWF = 1USD900 RWF = 1USDn.a
                Source: *National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR), Statistical Yearbook, 2016 edition (SYB2016), November 2016. Note: Agriculture production here includes food crops, export crops and livestock    
                Source:** UN Comtrade Database, May 16, 2017
                Source:***Rwanda National Agriculture Export Board

Leadign Sub-Sectors

Leading subsectors include grains (such as maize and beans), vegetables, and livestock.  Due to climate changes and Rwanda’s proximity to large markets such as Uganda, Burundi, and Eastern DRC, demand for food exports is high.                

Opportunities

  • Agro-processing
  • Storage facilities
  • Fertilizers
  • Pyrethrum (a natural, flower-derived insecticide) farming and processing
  • Horticulture and plant propagation
  • Farm equipment
  • Education and farmer training

Web resources

Ministry of Agriculture: http://www.minagri.gov.rw/
Rwanda Development Board: www.rdb.gov.rw
National Agriculture Export Board: https://naeb.gov.rw/index.php?id=1

 
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More Information

Rwanda Agribusiness Trade Development and Promotion