The Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Telesphore Ndabamenye, has called on farmers and other agricultural stakeholders to adopt innovative technologies and embrace strategic partnerships to drive sustainable agri-food systems transformation across the nation.

He delivered the message on Thursday, July 23, 2026, while officially opening the 19th Rwanda Agricultural Show at the Mulindi Show Ground in Gasabo District, Kigali City. 

Running from July 22 to 31, 2026, the 10-day event is organized under the theme: “Accelerating Agri-Food Systems Transformation through Innovation and Strategic Partnerships.” This year’s exhibition has attracted over 600 exhibitors, marking significant growth compared to the last years and showcasing cutting-edge solutions across the agricultural and livestock value chains. 

Speaking at the launch, Minister Ndabamenye highlighted the central role of agriculture and livestock in driving Rwanda’s socio-economic development, noting that the sector contributes 20% to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and supports nearly 70% of the country’s processing industries.

Under the Government of Rwanda's Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), the country is committed to increasing the production of priority crops by 50% while sustaining annual growth in the agriculture sector of more than 6%.

On global challenges such as climate change and rising input costs, the minister noted that increasing productivity requires targeted innovations and government interventions. 

“To support farmers through rising global prices, the Government has increased fertilizer subsidies and expanded access to affordable financing,” he said.

“To promote investment in the agriculture and livestock sectors, the Government of Rwanda has introduced a concessional lending programme under which interest rates on agricultural loans have been reduced to half of the prevailing commercial bank lending rates,” Minister Ndabamenye added.

He highlighted that over RWF 55 billion in financing has been approved over the past three years, with more than RWF 30.9 billion already disbursed through 31 participating financial institutions.

Under NST2, Rwanda aims to double private sector investment in agriculture from USD 2.2 billion in 2024 to USD 4.6 billion by 2029, while doubling agricultural export earnings from USD 893.16 million to USD 1.9 billion. Additionally, the share of credit allocated to the sector is targeted to rise from 6% to at least 10% of total commercial lending.

Highlighting the practical advancements on display at the agricultural show, including high-yielding crop varieties, modern small livestock systems, mechanization, irrigation, and post-harvest solutions, Minister Ndabamenye urged farmers to adopt the knowledge and skills gained from the event to achieve tangible results in the upcoming agricultural season 2027A.

The Rwanda Agricultural Show is an annual event organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI).

It serves as a strategic platform for knowledge exchange, technology transfer, and business networking among farmers, agribusinesses, researchers, investors, and policymakers to accelerate the modernization of Rwanda's agri-food systems in alignment with the country’s fifth Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture (PSTA5). 

Since its inception in 2003, the agricultural show has served as an ideal platform that brings together exhibitors and visitors to exchange information, experiences, technologies, and investment opportunities while strengthening partnerships across the agri-food system.

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