Travel 

Sunday, May 10, 2015 

Banking on Rwanda feeder road upgrades

KIGALI, Rwanda - The United States government, through the World Bank, has channelled $50 million for upgrading selected Rwanda feeder roads.

“The US government is proud to support this initiative and I want to recognize the strong partnership we have between Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank on this effort,” Erica Barks Ruggles, the US Ambassador to Rwanda said during the signing ceremony in Kigali last week.

With improved feeder road network Rwanda’s supply chain to markets will become more efficient.

The money is being disbursed  through the World Bank Feeder Roads Development Project and overseen in Rwanda by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 

“Together we are aiming very high and working very hard to supporting Rwanda’s aspirations to bring a prosperous future to all these people,” Ruggles said.

Rwanda has made significant progress in poverty reduction. This has much to do with strong partnerships in implementing programmes and projects with various international partners.

Ruggles said, “As part of US’s $3.5 billion global Feed the Future Programme initiative. The US government has made a strong commitment to agriculture production; quality and increasing quantity of production here in Rwanda with MINAGRI, and such programmes are aimed at improving farmers’ livelihoods as well as encourage investment for value added production in the agricultural sector”.

“Despite these efforts which have been very successful, physical infrastructure still remains a very big problem which is why feeder roads are very important because they remain a major constraint to rural communities getting their products to markets in a timely manner,” Ruggles said.

The project is aimed at rehabilitating and maintaining 350 kilometres of rural roads in selected districts such as Nyabihu, Nyanza, Gatsibo, Nyagatare, and Kayonza, and is therefore aimed at reducing rural poverty by enhancing the connection between agricultural market centers allowing women to get more market for their products since most women in rural areas are farmers and also allowing those social, educational and health benefits that accrue when there are feeder roads.

“Rural roads which link farmers to markets and service providers to poor communities play a fundamental role in promoting prosperity in the rural areas. We are delighted to be working with USAID in expanding the network of rural roads,” WB Country Manager in Rwanda Carolyn Turk said.

Turk said, “Rwanda has excellent investments in terraces, growing investments in irrigation but none of these would bare fruits if farmers cannot get their goods to the markets in a way that makes them competitive on both domestic and global markets”.

“This is really what we in partnership with the US government and the partnerships with others that we have are trying to achieve,” she said.

The Rwanda Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Geraldine Mukeshimana said at the same function, “This support will not only go to supporting the ministry’s strategic plan but also to the national strategic plan.”

By Agnes Bateta, Sunday, May 10th, 2015