Mukakamanzi Alphonsine’s four cows once produced less than 20 litres of milk a day combined. Today, the 64-year-old farmer in Ruhashya Sector, Huye District, supplies roughly 50 litres daily to her local milk collection centre. At RWF 400 a litre, that is about RWF 600,000 a month before costs. She has also developed approximately three hectares for forage multiplication, established a forage business and created jobs for young men and women. Her farming income pays her children’s university fees. Training helped her improve feeding, forage production and animal care; she turned that knowledge into an enterprise through sustained work and investment. As Rwanda holds its national World Food Day celebration on October 30, 2026, under the theme “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.”, her experience makes a compelling case for how we should support farmers. Innovation includes the everyday decisions through which they adapt knowledge, build businesses and invest in their families. Our responsibility is to make those investments more rewarding and less risky. This matters as Rwanda implements its Fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA5), built around a food-systems approach. In 2024, 83% of households were food secure. Stunting among children under five fell from 33% in 2020 to 27% in 2025. Reaching PSTA5’s target of 15% by 2029 requires agricultural progress to translate into affordable, diverse diets, alongside improvements in health, sanitation and care. Alphonsine received training through the Rwanda Dairy Development Project (RDDP), co-financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Heifer and the Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI). Similarly, Joseph Bizimana’s experience through the Partnership for Resilient and Inclusive Small Livestock Markets (PRISM) project, supported by the same partners, shows how such support can strengthen a household economy. A 42-year-old father of six in Mugano Sector, Nyamagabe District, Joseph once depended on casual labour and subsistence farming. He received ten chickens, two goats and livestock support, together with training in farming, group leadership and nutrition. Through his savings group, he began saving RWF 200 weekly, later increasing this to RWF 500. He combined RWF 70,000 from chicken sales with an RWF 80,000 group loan and his savings to open a community shop. He now owns twenty chickens, and his bean harvest has risen from 200 to 550 kilograms per season. Eggs and fresh vegetables support his family’s diet, and manure supports his crops. For me, the lesson is that development support must leave room for farmers’ judgment. Joseph used the opportunities available to pursue several sources of income. We should help farmers make informed choices and connect them to services that support those choices and unlock economic opportunities in their communities. Farmers are already financing agricultural transformation. Between July 2025 and June 2026, members of groups supported through our projects mobilised approximately RWF 1.37 billion in savings and made loans totalling RWF 1.46 billion to buy inputs, develop businesses and meet household needs. That commitment should influence how external finance is designed. Financial institutions should work with farmer organisations to develop products suited to their members’ needs, with repayment schedules aligned to production cycles. Heifer and other development partners should help make those connections last beyond individual projects. The same principle applies to knowledge. A recent PRISM social capital assessment reported the spread of knowledge and skills to people outside the project, including improved livestock management and a greater willingness to innovate. Investing in peer learning and community facilitators can help practical knowledge reach further. Environmental stewardship must also make economic sense for farmers. RDDP and PRISM projects support access to rainwater harvesting to help farmers manage dry spells. PRISM has also trained farmers to raise black soldier fly larvae, which turn organic waste into animal feed. Such approaches deserve support where farmers can adopt them affordably and sustain their use. Individual effort has limits. Expensive feed can erode returns from higher milk production. Distance to markets can limit sales. Heavy rains damaged about half the French-bean area insured by two cooperatives supported through our projects; insurance compensation helped farmers recover part of their losses. Alongside appropriate finance, farmers need buyers who offer dependable purchasing arrangements, fair prices and timely payment. Government and development partners must strengthen practical advisory services and make finance and insurance accessible. We should judge these services by whether they protect farmers’ investments and improve returns. Heifer Rwanda’s Agribusiness Transformation Signature Program aims to support 300,000 smallholder-farmer households towards sustainable living incomes by 2035, aligned with PSTA5 and the Second National Strategy for Transformation. Our test of success must be whether families can eat well throughout the year, earn to meet essential needs, invest and withstand setbacks. Alphonsine and Joseph are investing in that future already. This World Food Day, our commitment should be to make their initiative count through finance, knowledge and markets they can depend on. The writer is the Country Director, Heifer International Rwanda.
