The government is stepping up investments in irrigation, fertiliser support and climate resilience as it moves to protect agriculture from the growing impacts of climate change and international conflicts, Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva has said.

Presenting government activities under the theme Strengthening Rwanda's Resilience to Internal and External Shocks before a joint sitting of Parliament on Thursday, July 9, Nsengiyumva said agriculture and livestock, which remain the main source of livelihood for many Rwandans, continue to be affected by weather and external shocks.

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"Our country has largely been affected by the impacts of climate change as well as those arising from international conflicts, including the war in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine," he said.

He noted that irregular rainfall, prolonged droughts, floods and landslides continue to undermine agricultural production and food security.

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"These challenges have an impact on programmes aimed at increasing production and achieving food self-sufficiency. They also contribute to rising food prices on the market."

To reduce dependence on rainfall, Nsengiyumva said the government has significantly expanded irrigation infrastructure across the country.

"To address insufficient rainfall, the government has invested heavily in irrigation programmes. To date, we have reached more than 76,000 hectares of irrigated land. It is planned that, during this year 2026, this will increase to more than 82,000 hectares."

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He said the long-term target is to expand irrigated land to more than 132,000 hectares by 2029 through projects including the Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Food Security Project (SAIP), the Small-Scale Irrigation Technology (SSIT) project, CDAT, KIIWP, ETI, the Giseke project and the Muvumba Multipurpose Project.

The Prime Minister said the government is also expanding terraces, promoting agroforestry and investing in modern weather forecasting and early warning systems to improve preparedness against climate-related disasters.

He commended Rwandans for exceeding the country's annual tree-planting target.

"We would like to thank Rwandans who have continued to participate in tree planting programmes, with 68 million trees planted during 2025-2026 against our target of 60 million. The government calls upon all Rwandans to continue working together to care for these trees so that we can strengthen our resilience."

Beyond climate-related challenges, Nsengiyumva said geopolitical tensions have also affected agricultural production by pushing up fertiliser prices on the global market.

"These conflicts caused fertiliser prices on the international market to increase by between 15 per cent and 66 per cent between February and June 2026."

To cushion farmers, he said the government has increased financial support for fertiliser purchases.

"The government has committed to covering 50 per cent of the increase in fertiliser prices for farmers, in addition to the subsidy that was already being provided."

As a result, he said, fertiliser subsidies will rise from just over Rwf39 billion in the 2025/26 fiscal year to more than Rwf64 billion in 2026/27.

"These measures will ensure that fertiliser remains affordable for farmers and will also contribute to increasing its use."

Local production of fertilisers

According to the Prime Minister, fertiliser application has already increased from 73 kilogrammes per hectare in 2024 to 80 kilogrammes per hectare this year, with the government targeting 94.6 kilogrammes per hectare by 2029.

He added that Rwanda has already begun implementing a long-term solution through local fertiliser production.

"We now have a fertiliser blending plant with the capacity to blend 100,000 tonnes of fertiliser per year, and farmers have expressed satisfaction with the quality of the fertiliser products already produced."

The government will also continue exempting agricultural and livestock equipment, irrigation systems and veterinary medicines from taxes while investing in storage facilities, cold rooms, crop drying equipment and feeder roads to reduce post-harvest losses and improve farmers' access to markets.

Challenges related to poor seeds

During the parliamentary session, MP Germaine Mukabalisa raised concerns over certified seeds that fail to produce expected yields despite being supplied to farmers. She also highlighted diseases affecting passion fruits and pineapples, particularly in the Northern Province.

Responding to the concerns, the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources Telesphore Ndabamanye acknowledged that some seed suppliers had failed to meet required standards.

"Since 2017, we started local seed multiplication, especially hybrid maize, and involved private seed multipliers. We also saw the challenges of seeds that failed to be productive, and we held accountable the company that supplied those seeds."

He said the ministry is strengthening quality inspection throughout the seed value chain while investing in research to develop more resilient seed varieties.

Ndabamanye added that the draft law on plant production, being worked on, will strengthen accountability in the sector once enacted.