AgriHubs and Food Basket Sites are poised to revolutionise Rwanda's agriculture, experts say. The new approaches are central to the country's new five-year agricultural strategy.
The fifth edition of the Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 5) runs from 2024-2025 to 2028-2029.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), under PSTA 5, the country aims to modernise crops and animal resources production, and reduce post-harvest losses.
It also targets to strengthen market linkages such easing farmers' access to markets for the sale of their produce, boost exports, and ensure food and nutrition security for all Rwandans.
At the core of the strategy, MINAGRI indicated, are innovative approaches such as AgriHubs, which will concentrate resources on specific production areas and foster collaborations among agri-food systems actors to drive agricultural transformation in Rwanda.
As per the strategy, Rwanda seeks to implement new management of agricultural land through AgriHubs and Food Basket Sites.
AgriHubs will be large, market-driven agricultural production sites covering at least 500 hectares, often featuring irrigation systems.
Managed by large-scale farmers or investors, the hubs will be equipped with modern infrastructure for production and post-harvest activities. They will serve both domestic and export markets.
Food Basket Sites, on the other hand, will involve consolidated land parcels of no less than five hectares, managed by smallholder farmer organisations, with government support for five years before becoming autonomous.
These sites will focus on food security and market-oriented production for both domestic and export markets.
Boosting productivity
Patrick Karangwa, Director General of Agriculture Modernisation at MINAGRI, pointed out that AgriHubs and Food Basket Sites align with Rwanda's goal to increase priority food crop productivity by 50 per cent, ensuring food security and boosting exports under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) from 2024-2025 t0 2028-2029.
"This can't be achieved if we keep doing business as usual. Food Basket Sites and AgriHubs are innovative management models that will enable us to enhance efficiency and maximise returns on agriculture investments," he observed.
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According to the Ministry, the government, private sector, and other partners will invest in the sites, providing infrastructure, technology, soil management, mechanisation, irrigation, post-harvest, and extension services.
Over time, he said, AgriHubs will expand to include Food Basket Sites. The government will offer financial incentives, strengthen farmer organisations, and collaborate with the private sector to implement sustainable projects.
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For instance, Karangwa highlighted that the Gabiro Agribusiness Hub will be upgraded into a fully-fledged AgriHub, and that efforts will be sustained to develop Gako beef project in the same regard.
Both projects are located in Rwanda's Eastern Province.
Land ownership challenges
One of the biggest challenges that efforts to transform and modernise agriculture face is the hyper-fragmented land holding system, according to Karangwa.
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics Rwanda's (NISR) Agriculture Household Survey of December 2021, 77.6 per cent of agricultural households own less than half a hectare, and only 0.4 per cent own five hectares or more.
The government has mapped 13,379 Food Basket Sites, covering 495,155 hectares. The sites include individually owned and consolidated land, such as developed irrigated schemes.
"To these, we add previously open grazing land of Eastern Province (pasture land) that has been transformed into zero grazing land - these are 6,169 sites amounting to 92,334 ha," Karangwa noted.
Agricultural economist Jules Ngango, a lecturer at the University of Rwanda's College of Business and Economics, described the AgriHub model as critical towards boosting agricultural production.
He observed that it is similar to a model used in countries like South Korea, where large-scale agricultural investors drive the industry.
Ngango believes the model is ideal for Rwanda, where smallholder farmers dominate, and would support both agricultural growth and industrialisation.
"It's the model needed for agriculture to grow and support the country's development," he said, emphasizing the importance of large-scale farming as a business, rather than subsistence farming.
"If implemented effectively, this model can significantly boost agricultural productivity," he added.
Ngango also suggested that contract farming should be implemented alongside the AgriHub model to ensure that large-scale farmers have reliable markets and consistent supply.
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He said that large-scale farmers have the capacity to invest in irrigation and afford inputs like fertilisers, which are key to increasing productivity and ensuring export readiness.
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Priority crops
Karangwa indicated that priority crops in Food Basket Sites and AgriHubs will be food security assurance crops and export promotion crops.
They include major food security crops that are more storable like cereals (maize, rice), pulses (such as beans), and crops that generate more income to the farmers such as potatos, bananas, and cassava.
The official indicated that priority crops also include agro-processed crops for industry raw materials such as soybean and wheat, as well as nutritious crops like fruits and vegetables.
Priority export crops are those that have greater export market revenue generation potential, as well as meeting agro-ecological suitability and other comparative advantages assessment criteria.
Based on these criteria, Karangwa said, priority export crops include chili, French beans, avocado, and passion fruit.
