Rwanda’s four major investment priorities to boost agri-food systems

Rwanda is seeking to turn the momentum generated by the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) into concrete investments, jobs and stronger agricultural markets, with the government outlining four priorities to accelerate agricultural transformation. Chantal Ingabire, Director General for Planning at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), presented the priorities during the Rwanda Legacy Session on September 4, the final day of AFSF 2026. The priorities build on initiatives launched at previous editions of the forum while opening new investment opportunities in horticulture, food production, agricultural commercialisation and food-systems innovation. ALSO READ: Rwanda woos investors to inject $1.7bn into major agriculture opportunities at concluded Africa Food Systems Forum Four priorities to drive agri-food transformation The first is the 2024 Legacy Program, covering chili, avocado, potato, poultry, beef and innovative finance. Launched at AFSF in Kigali in September 2024, it has since been developed into investment propositions through the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum. The programme requires more than $1.6 billion (over Rwf2.4 trillion) and aims to develop bankable agricultural investments, create jobs for young people and women, and strengthen food security and exports. Its focus includes crop and livestock value chains, the Gabiro Agribusiness Hub and Muvumba multipurpose dam project to expand irrigation and livestock production. Greenhouses seen as gateway to high-value exports The second priority is greenhouse-enabled horticulture, a proposed new Legacy Programme aimed at expanding protected agriculture and improving yields, quality and year-round supply for export markets. Investment opportunities include greenhouse infrastructure, irrigation technology, certification, cold-chain logistics and export offtake agreements. The proposed replicable hub model combines five hectares of greenhouse production with 40 hectares of on-farm and out-grower production involving about 250 farmers. It would include a farmer service centre, certified packhouse, cold storage and refrigerated transport to Kigali International Airport, alongside centralised irrigation, fertigation and pest management. ALSO READ: Foreign firms bet on Gabiro hub as agriculture booms Each hub would require about $2.6 million in capital expenditure, with projected revenue of $5.6 million by the fifth year and $7.2 million by the tenth year. At steady state, the project is projected to deliver a gross margin of about 58 per cent per cent and a net margin of 32-34 per cent, according to an investment outlook presented at the forum. Food Basket Sites to raise productivity The third priority is Food Basket Sites (FOBASI), which consolidate farmers into larger production sites to improve access to inputs, extension services, finance, irrigation and structured markets. ALSO READ: Govt prioritises food basket sites to boost farm yields More than 13,000 sites covering about 490,000 hectares have been established, with a target of increasing crop and livestock productivity by at least 50 per cent by 2029. Investment opportunities include mechanisation, digital advisory services, storage, market linkages and cooperative finance. Food innovation targets jobs and exports The fourth priority is the Rwanda Food Innovation Ecosystem, anchored in the Rwanda Food Innovation Ecosystem Strategy (RFIES) 2026-2035 and Rwanda Food Innovation Partnership (RFIP). ALSO READ: New food innovation platform to launch with $20m funding ambition The strategy seeks to position the country as a leading destination for food-systems innovation, focusing on modern production technologies, strengthening the middle of the value chain, protein diversification, and nutrition, health and biotechnology—with the target of reducing stunting from about 27 per cent currently to below 15 per cent by 2029. It targets 30,000 youth jobs and more than $650 million in agri-food exports by 2035, as per MINAGRI. Three accelerator programmes are being rolled out around policy and regulation, investment, and venture and SME support to improve the business environment, mobilise capital and help food innovators develop viable businesses. Turning investment opportunities into results Olivier Kamana, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, said the priority now is to turn the opportunities into measurable results. “The Rwanda Legacy Program provides us with a practical framework to carry this ambition forward,” he said. He noted that the government had identified opportunities for partnership and investment across chili and potato, poultry, greenhouse-enabled horticulture, Food Basket Sites and the food innovation ecosystem. ALSO READ: Rwanda needs $470m to unlock chili industry Kamana observed that the success of these initiatives would not be measured by the number of ideas generated or agreements signed. “It will be measured by what we implement, what we produce, the markets we reach, the jobs we create, and the lives and livelihoods we improve,” he said. He urged investors, development partners, financial institutions, technology providers and researchers to continue discussions beyond the forum and help develop marketable propositions, partnerships and financing. AfDB renews focus on Rwanda’s agri-food systems The African Development Bank (AfDB) also signalled renewed support for the agricultural sector. Innocent Musabyimana, Chief Agricultural Technologies Officer at AfDB, said the bank is co-creating a programme with the government focused on resilience and sustainability, with around $300 million expected to be financed next year. “The African Development Bank has been in agriculture sector. For more than 10 years the African Development Bank was more focusing on transport, energy, and water. But currently, the African Development Bank is back in agriculture,” he said. Musabyimana said the programme would support government priorities, including strengthening Food Basket Sites into “more commercial and viable entities” through digitalisation and better access to inputs, markets, finance and advisory services. He also highlighted youth employment, saying the bank wants to support young people to become agripreneurs while helping the sector respond to increasing shocks affecting food systems. The investment push comes as Rwanda works towards the $1.5 billion annual agricultural-export target set under the fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 5) by 2029. Agricultural exports reached $1.1 billion (over Rwf1.6 trillion) in the 2025/26 financial year, up 24 per cent from the previous year and marking the first time they surpassed the $1 billion mark, according to the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB).

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Rwanda’s four major investment priorities to boost agri-food systems