KIGALI, RWANDA - A new project to help increase the quality and quantity of Rwanda's agricultural exports and boost the farmers' income has been launched.
Funded by a loan from the International Food Agricultural Development (IFAD), the US$56 million Project for Rural Income Through Exports (PRICE) builds on the progress of the concluded Cash and Export Crops Development (PDCRE) project.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, PRICE will benefit approximately 130,000 households in the tea, coffee, silk and horticulture sectors.
This will be done by taking a value chain approach to increase production volume and quality, improve marketing, and strengthen farmer organizations to raise smallholder farmers' income.
Prior to the launch of the five-year project in the capital Kigali, a two-day workshop was conducted bringing together bankers, donors and other stakeholders in an attempt to create awareness of the project among various potential stakeholders.
Agriculture Minister Agnes Kalibata said the East African country expects coffee, tea and horticulture production to increase.
She said Rwanda targets 50,000 tons of coffee while tea and horticultural produce is expected to double by 2015. She noted that high quality coffee and tea are not enough but the country needs them in high volumes as well.
She said silk and essential oils, which are to receive support under the PRICE project, would continue to get investment by 2015.
The outgoing IFAD country coordinator for Rwanda Mr. Claus Reiner said attractive producer prices were the key issue within the PRICE Project.
He said this was the biggest between IFAD and Rwanda in their 38 years of cooperation. "We are proud to partner with Rwanda as the development here is real and has transformed the country," he said.
Rwanda is challenged to increase exports and lower imports in order to reduce the widening trade deficit. Rwanda depends on agricultural exports such as coffee and tea and mineral exports whose earnings are still lower than the import bill.
Last year, exports increased by 44.4% in volume and 52.8% in value compared to the year before generating $404 million. With the increased investment in the agriculture sector focusing on increasing production and value, Rwanda hopes to diversify its exports in order to reduce the trade deficit.
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