The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) today (December 6^th, 2024) launched the country’s Fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation known as PSTA 5 from its French acronym for plan stratégique pour la transformation agricole.

Under the theme of "Building Resilient and Sustainable Agri-Food Systems”, the PSTA5 covering five years from 2024 to 2029 was launched in Kigali at the presence of more than 100 key partners in Rwanda’s agriculture and food systems sector.

Aligned with Vision 2050 and the National Strategy for Transformation (NST 2), it focuses on building resilient and sustainable agri-food systems to address climate change, enhance food security, and boost economic growth.

At the launch of the plan, Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, emphasized that it was designed as a tool and a roadmap to guide efforts at tackling the country’s food systems challenges.

The latter include mainly land scarcity, low agricultural productivity, post-harvest losses, Climate change shocks, limited access to finance, and low market penetration among others.

“PSTA5 is the first food systems and climate resilient centric strategy in our country, covering the period 2024–2029. It will support our initiatives to transform and modernize the agricultural sector in line with NST 2 and the Rwanda Vision 2050,” Minister Bagabe said at the launch of the plan.

Reports by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda indicate the agriculture sector in the country accounted for about two-thirds of the poverty reduction between 2001 and 2017 and currently represents 27 per cent of GDP, essentially playing a significant role in the Rwanda socio-economic landscape.

The financial framework for PSTA 5 outlines a well-structured allocation of resources to achieve transformative growth in Rwanda's agriculture sector, with its five-year implementation period (2024–2029) requiring a total budget of RWF 6,622.6 billion (USD 5,117.9 Million). 

The budget is strategically distributed across three priority areas and flagship programs to drive agriculture transformation and ensure sustainable development.

The private sector is expected to contribute Around 44.2% of the total budget over five years, amounting to significant investments in infrastructure, value chains, and climate-smart initiatives. 

The rest will be covered through the Government’s public investment and Partners. This underscores the importance of fostering public-private partnerships, alignment of partners’ interventions and the Government’s role in creating an enabling environment for investment in the agri-food system.

As he officiated the launch of PSTA 5, Minister Bagabe requested all partners in the country’s agriculture and food systems sector to actively participate in the plan’s implementation as they also consult each other through their well organised forum known as the Agriculture Sector Working Group (ASWG).

“On behalf of MINAGRI and the Government of Rwanda, I therefore, request the High-Level Forum of the Agriculture Sector Working Group (ASWG) to actively participate in the implementation of PSTA 5 as a support to the sector’s key priorities aiming at transforming, modernizing and revolutionizing agriculture in Rwanda,” he said.

Extensive stakeholder consultations informed the design of the Fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 5), ensuring inclusivity and alignment with Rwanda's agriculture priorities.

END.