The government needs to scale up agroecological farming practices as climate change threatens agricultural productivity, accelerates soil erosion and exposes farmers to increasingly erratic rainfall, stakeholders have said.
Agriculture employs 54.8 per cent of Rwanda’s workforce, but climate change is projected to reduce yields of key staple crops by at least 10 per cent under moderate warming scenarios and by up to 15 per cent under higher-emission pathways by 2050, according to Rwanda’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 3.0.
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The climate plan also identifies more than one million hectares of land as being at high risk of soil erosion, with average topsoil losses estimated at 25 tonnes per hectare annually.
This makes approaches that improve soil health, conserve water and strengthen the resilience of farming systems increasingly important.
Faustin Vuningoma, coordinator of Rwanda Climate Change and Development Network (RCCDN), said some Rwandan farmers already practise elements of agroecology, but more support is needed to expand them.
"A lot of Rwandans are already practicing elements of agroecology. What is needed is to strengthen it as a science and provide the support required to scale it up,” Vuningoma said.
He said practices such as composting and soil enrichment can improve soil health and agricultural productivity while helping farmers cope with changing climatic conditions.
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Vuningoma said Rwanda should strengthen research, demonstration, financing and agricultural extension if agroecological practices are to move beyond individual farmers and gain wider adoption.
He identified limited financing and an agricultural extension system largely oriented towards commercial farming systems as some of the challenges that need to be addressed.
Rwanda’s NDC 3.0 places climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture among its adaptation priorities.
It proposes combining on-farm water security with solar irrigation and climate-resilient seeds and livestock breeds, while using terracing and agroforestry to tackle heavy rainfall and soil erosion. It also proposes solar dryers and biogas in storage and processing hubs to reduce post-harvest losses.
Several mitigation measures in the NDC also closely align with agroecological practices, including terracing, crop rotation, mulching, conservation agriculture and compost production.
By 2035, mulching is projected to deliver 1.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in emissions reductions, followed by terracing at 1.23 million tonnes, crop rotation at 0.79 million tonnes and conservation agriculture at 0.41 million tonnes.
Agriculture-related measures collectively have the potential to reduce emissions by up to 5.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2035 compared with the business-as-usual scenario.
For Vuningoma, the challenge is therefore not introducing an entirely new farming model, but strengthening practices farmers already use and providing the evidence and support needed to expand them.
He said agroecology should be more clearly reflected in the implementation of NDC 3.0 and incorporated into agricultural extension strategies.
The issue was discussed during a national advocacy workshop on integrating agroecology into NDC 3.0 held in Kigali on August 13 and convened by RCCDN and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA).
The workshop brought together stakeholders working in climate change, sustainable agriculture, food systems, environment and civil society advocacy to examine policy and implementation gaps and develop common recommendations.
Rwanda’s climate plan records that floods and landslides caused 131 deaths in May 2023, with damages estimated at $160 million and losses of $34 million.
It targets the rehabilitation of more than one million hectares of degraded land by 2030 through measures including terracing and agroforestry.
Irrigation coverage is also expected to increase from 102,000 hectares in 2025 to 200,000 hectares by 2030.
For Vuningoma, the priority is now to ensure that farming practices already being used receive the research, financing, extension and policy support needed to scale them up and contribute meaningfully to Rwanda’s climate goals.