Rwanda Targets $1.5B Agricultural Exports by 2029

Rwanda Targets $1.5 Billion in Agricultural Export Revenues by 2029

The Government of Rwanda has set an ambitious plan to transform agriculture into a business-driven, export-oriented sector, with a target of increasing annual agricultural export revenues from $839 million in 2023/24 to over $1.5 billion by 2029.

The announcement was made by Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, during a high-level meeting held in Kigali on August 14. The meeting brought together policymakers, exporters, and financial institutions to chart the future of Rwanda’s agri-export sector.

Agriculture as a Business, Not Just a Way of Life

According to the minister Bagabe, Rwanda is changing its emphasis on subsistence farming to make agriculture a business and becoming major in production, adding value and competing in the global market.

The government under the Fifth Strategic Plan of Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 5) is mobilizing investment of Rwf144 billion ($110 million) or 2.3 percent of the total cost of the plan, to tap into the full potential of agricultural exports.

This strategic investment will ensure that agriculture becomes one of the pillars of economic growth, development of rural areas, employment creation and poverty alleviation.

Key Challenges Facing Rwanda’s Agriculture Sector

Despite the opportunities, several barriers continue to slow down progress:

• Limited access to finance for smallholder farmers.
• Inadequate infrastructure such as storage and transport facilities.
• Market volatility and fluctuating international prices.
• Climate-related risks like droughts and floods.
• Gaps in value addition, with most products exported raw instead of processed.

Bagabe stressed that addressing these challenges is critical to ensuring Rwanda becomes a competitive player in global agri-trade.

Government Interventions to Unlock Growth

The government is rolling out several initiatives to modernize agriculture and improve export capacity:

1. Cold Chain & Logistics – Developing reliable cold storage and transportation systems to reduce post-harvest losses, especially for perishable goods like fruits and vegetables.
2. Cargo Expansion – Increasing air freight capacity through RwandAir’s acquisition of larger, dedicated aircraft to serve horticulture exports.
3. Gabiro Agribusiness Hub Phase II – A 10,000-hectare irrigation-led mega farm in Eastern Province designed to scale up modern farming practices.
4. Compliance & Quality Standards – Supporting exporters to meet international regulatory standards through inspections, registration, and quality monitoring.
5. Food Basket Sites – Aggregating 485,000 hectares into large-scale production sites to boost productivity and create economies of scale.

“These food basket sites will be a game changer,” Bagabe said. “By concentrating resources and technical expertise, we can drive higher yields and consistency across the sector.”

Exporters Call for Financing and Sustainability

Private sector stakeholders also raised concerns during the meeting.

• Sakina Usengimana, Managing Director of Afri Foods Ltd, urged for tailored financing for smallholder farmers linked to exporters.
• Robert Rukundo, Chairman of the Horticulture Exporters Association of Rwanda, stressed the importance of consistency in quality and volume to penetrate premium global markets.

Strategic Export Focus Areas

Rwanda is prioritizing high-value crops such as chili, coffee, and tea—sectors expected to drive exponential growth.

• Chili Exports: Projected to grow from $6 million to $48 million annually by 2029, fueled by rising demand in China and India.
• Coffee Exports: Expected to increase from $78.7 million to $115.5 million (a 47% rise). Plans include replanting old coffee trees, expanding cultivation areas, and boosting specialty coffee exports. However, Rwanda aims to add value, as roasted coffee currently makes up less than 1% of exports.
• Tea Exports: Revenues projected to rise from $107.7 million to $164.4 million by 2029, driven by expansion into high-altitude zones and adoption of climate-smart farming to reduce risks from floods and soil erosion.

Towards Value Addition and Global Competitiveness

Although Rwanda has been taking steps to export specialty food products like fully washed coffee (which comprised 76 percent of coffee export in 2023/24), the country is behind in terms of value addition. To illustrate, direct sales of tea only total up to 25 percent and the amount of roasted coffee is barely noticeable in export markets.

Processing, branding, and value addition are therefore being given a priority by the government as channels towards increased revenues and better global positioning.

The Road Ahead

Rwanda boasts a 78.7 percent growth in agricultural exports by 2029 which indicates that it is encompassing an ambitious plan to ensure that the sector turns out to be the cataclysmic economic engine.

The interaction of government incentives, investment of the private sector, and sub-regional cooperation is likely to result in opening up opportunities to farmers, increased foreign exchange earnings, and the taking of Rwanda into a competitive agri-export province globally.

Minister Bagabe concluded that transforming agriculture into business is not choice as it is the future of Rwanda economy.