Documenting vital information on agriculture financing in Rwanda

The Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR-Rwanda) in partnership with Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) launched the first edition of the Rwanda Agriculture Finance Year Book at ceremony held at Park Inn by Radisson Hotel in Kigali on 31 July 2019.

The Rwanda Agriculture Finance Year Book provides vital information on the agriculture financing ecosystem in Rwanda, profiles best practices and emerging innovations in agriculture financing and lays out challenges and lessons to continue improving agriculture financing in the country.

Emphasizing the importance of the book, the Executive Director of IPAR-Rwanda Ms. Eugenia Kayitesi said, “Agriculture is a major source of income for the majority of rural families but is also a key contributor to national growth which makes it extremely important. However, it faces many challenges and access to adequate and affordable financial services remains its biggest challenge. The Agriculture Finance Year Book therefore highlights challenges, initiatives, innovations and lessons that are vital for improving the agriculture financing ecosystem in Rwanda.”
The book is intended to increase knowledge and good practices implemented in Rwanda in the area of agriculture financing in Rwanda. It is expected to inform stakeholders in the agriculture sector including decision makers, farmers, investors, consumers and development partners about the available agriculture financing mechanisms, key actors, latest innovations that are aimed at improving agriculture financing and the credit needs of the farmers in the country.

“We believe this knowledge product will add enormous value to existing initiatives geared towards improving the agriculture finance sub sector as the information collected will be useful to multiple stakeholders supporting the agriculture sector. These include farmers themselves, financial service providers, policy makers, funders, investors, technology companies and others says Ms. Waringa Kibe, the Access to Finance Rwanda Country Director.

The first of its kind in Rwanda, the Agriculture Finance Year Book was compiled and written by IPAR-Rwanda with funding from Access to Finance (AFR). The book has been written in both Kinyarwanda and English and it will be distributed to the stakeholders in the agriculture sector. It will also be available on the websites of IPAR-Rwanda and AFR for downloading.

Country Director of Access to Finance Rwanda(AFR) Ms. Waringa Kibe, Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) Rwanda Representative Mr. Mr Gualbert Gbehounou and Executive Director of IPAR-Rwanda Ms. Eugenia Kayitesi launching the Book on July 31, 2019. Copyright IPAR-Rwanda 2019.