Officials in the Eastern Province, Rwanda's bread basket, have called on the country's private sector to maximise the region's agriculture potential by actively investing in the sector.
Officials in the Eastern Province, Rwanda’s bread basket, have called on the country’s private sector to maximise the region’s agriculture potential by actively investing in the sector.
The call was made yesterday by the provincial governor Odette Uwamariya at a conference, in Rwamagana, that attracted government officials, businesses and experts from across the country.
Uwamariya said the province offered businesses plenty of opportunities in agriculture but also in such sectors as infrastructure, tourism and hospitality, mining and alternative energy.
Participants concurred that agriculture in the region was yet to receive enough attention from the private sector, which they said has partly condemned the country to continued importation of foodstuff.
They said increased investments in commercial large-scale farming could go a long way in reducing poverty and creating wealth.
Uwamariya said government had put place a conducive environment for investment and urged local businesses to make the most of it.
"I am proud that our province is increasingly becoming the country’s bread basket, but without serious investments in agriculture and a strong rural economy, I cannot see a viable future. The private sector should therefore take the lead in transforming the agriculture sector,” she said.
"There is need for a shift in our mindset, in the way we look at farming as something for particularly smallholder farmers and look at it as an economic activity that feeds people and generates wealth.”
Theoneste Ntagengerwa, from the Private Sector Federation (PSF), said: "The need for massive agriculture investments is urgent. We need to go into agriculture big time, and by doing so we will help address the issue of unemployment as well.”
The discussion was preceded by PSF elections that saw Fabrice Habanabakize elected as chairman, Eastern Province.
"There is evidence that every franc invested in agriculture in Rwanda has an impact on poverty reduction efforts,” Habanabakize said.
Agriculture employs about 80 per cent of the population.