Since 1981, International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) has financed 16 rural development programmes and projects in Rwanda, for a total amount of US$284.6 million, directly benefiting about 634,300 rural households. The IFAD country programme has contributed significantly to improving incomes and food security in rural areas, particularly through watershed development, increased production in irrigated marshland and hillsides, development of livestock and export crops and support for cooperatives and rural enterprise promotion.

IFAD country programme has piloted a number of innovations, including a rice intensification system (SRI), crop-livestock integration and intensification, support for water users’ associations and development of farmer-managed veterinary pharmacies, which have now been mainstreamed into government programmes. In addition, new technologies such as the flexi-biogas (a low-cost biogas digester) are providing affordable energy to remote rural areas.

An apprenticeship programme is helping rural youth gain new skills. IFAD also supports the government in mainstreaming climate resilience in all stages of agricultural value chains. This includes the development of drought and flood tolerant seeds, low-cost and energy-saving technologies (e.g. solar- and biogas-powered machineries), "climate proof” building, elaboration and communication of climate information services, renewable energy and climate-smart practices.

IFAD’s strategy in Rwanda, as documented in its results-based country strategic opportunities programme (RB-COSOP) for 2013-2018, is well aligned with EDPRS 2 and PSTA III. The COSOP’s overall objective is to reduce poverty by empowering poor rural men and women to actively participate in the transformation of the agriculture sector and rural development, and by reducing their vulnerability to climate change. The three interrelated strategic objectives of IFAD’s country programme in Rwanda are: