The role of agriculture in the fast-growing Rwandan Economy

The role of agriculture in the fast-growing Rwandan Economy PDF Author: Diao, Xinshen
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
This study assesses the future growth prospects of Rwanda. The report first focuses on broad economic growth using a rather aggregated 18-sector dynamic general equilibrium model to display the trade-off between rapid growth and structural change. The analysis shows that with the current investment pattern, rapid growth is possible but structural transformation is slow. With an overvalued exchange rate, growth in the tradable sector slows down and its share in the economy stays small. The importance of agriculture thus should be considered in the broad development strategy, for its role not only in poverty reduction but also in economic growth.

The role of agriculture in the fast-growing Rwandan Economy

The role of agriculture in the fast-growing Rwandan Economy PDF Author: Diao, Xinshen
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
This study assesses the future growth prospects of Rwanda. The report first focuses on broad economic growth using a rather aggregated 18-sector dynamic general equilibrium model to display the trade-off between rapid growth and structural change. The analysis shows that with the current investment pattern, rapid growth is possible but structural transformation is slow. With an overvalued exchange rate, growth in the tradable sector slows down and its share in the economy stays small. The importance of agriculture thus should be considered in the broad development strategy, for its role not only in poverty reduction but also in economic growth.

Public investment prioritization for Rwanda’s inclusive agricultural transformation: Evidence from rural investment and policy analysis modeling

Public investment prioritization for Rwanda’s inclusive agricultural transformation: Evidence from rural investment and policy analysis modeling PDF Author: Aragie, Emerta
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
As Rwanda is expected to return to its rapid growth trajectory following the COVID-19 pandemic, agriculture will continue to play a central role in the structural transformation of the entire economy. To this end, the Government of Rwanda continues to invest in the agricultural sector by building on Strategic Plans for the Transformation of Agriculture (PSTAs) that began in the early 2000s. The challenging question is how to prioritize public expenditures across a broad portfolio of policies and programs. Ambitious plans, whether in the short or long term, require difficult decisions. The prioritization of public investment becomes even more complex as Rwanda’s structural transformation advances and as new investments—beyond the farm—become critically important for the agricultural sector. The structural transformation process itself means that as agriculture becomes more integrated with the rest of the economy, public resource allocations need to address a wider range of issues across the entire food system; these include nutrition-sensitive food production systems, inclusive value chain development, nonfarm rural enterprise development, and climate-resilient sustainable intensification of both crops and livestock. This study provides evidence that is designed to assist the Government of Rwanda in its selection of agricultural policy, investment, and expenditure portfolios that reflect the country’s broad focus on its food system and structural transformation. This process of prioritization will need to incorporate multiple public investments targeting multiple development outcomes and will need to be grounded in the costeffective use of public resources in a largely market-led transformation process. This data-driven and evidence-based approach must critically underpin an informed investment prioritization process that helps achieve ambitious targets in an environment constrained by limited public resources. The study uses the Rural Investment and Policy Analysis (RIAPA) economywide model developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), with contributions from colleagues at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) and the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). The study draws on data from multiple sources as well as expert insights to inform the application of RIAPA’s Agricultural Investment for Data Analyzer (AIDA) module as a tool to measure the impacts of alternative public expenditure options on multiple development outcomes. Using this integrated modeling framework, the study links agricultural and rural development spending to four specific outcomes: economic growth, job creation, poverty reduction, and diet quality improvement; at the same time, it considers the synergies and tradeoffs associated with the different investment options in the transformation process. The paper first assesses the contribution of public expenditures to agricultural and rural development under the fourth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 4) that extends between 2018 and 2024. These findings are important, given the fact that since the beginning of PSTA 4, the budget allocated to MINAGRI (measured in constant prices) has stagnated. Our results suggest that increased spending on agriculture is well justified and that such spending is essential if the Government of Rwanda is to achieve its long-term development goals.

Agricultural Growth and Investment Options for Poverty Reduction in Rwanda

Agricultural Growth and Investment Options for Poverty Reduction in Rwanda PDF Author: Xinshen Diao
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896291766
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Although Rwanda has made considerable progress in recovering politically and economically from the devastating effects of the 1994 genocide, the poverty rate is still higher and the gross domestic product lower than before the genocide. Poverty reduction and economic growth would receive much-needed support from increased agricultural growth. This study assesses alternative agricultural development strategies, identifying areas in which policy reforms, together with public and private investment, can best promote Rwandan agriculture. The authors evaluate the potential of several different agricultural subsectors-grains, root crops, livestock, and others-to contribute to national agricultural growth and poverty reduction. They conclude that growth in staple crops, particularly root crops such as cassava and potatoes, has the greatest potential to encourage economywide growth and poverty reduction. Promoting the necessary staple crop growth will require the allocation of public resources to the agricultural sector to increase significantly, reaching 10 percent of the total government budget. It will also require rethinking Rwanda's earlier emphasis on promoting export crop growth, which has proved inadequate in encouraging poverty reduction while also posing environmental problems. This study makes an important contribution to the debate over the most effective development strategies for Rwanda and other Sub-Saharan African nations.Show More Show Less

Rwanda's journey towards sustainable food systems

Rwanda's journey towards sustainable food systems PDF Author: Wigboldus, S., Guijt, J., Garcia-Campos, P.
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251347905
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 53

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Book Description
Governments and other food system actors from the private sector, civil society, research and education institutions are being called upon to work together to enhance the sustainability, resilience and inclusiveness of food systems. This appraisal presents key lessons from food, agriculture and environment-related institutional mechanisms, programmes and policies in Rwanda, considered against the backdrop of the country’s agroecological conditions and relevant social, economic and political history. It also provides insights into trade-offs and tensions which involve a balancing act between strong leadership and meaningful participation, securing local food sovereignty and outward connectivity, intensifying and diversifying the (agricultural) economy, creating room for private sector entrepreneurship and providing central coordination – as well as a mindset focused on what is needed and possible.

Rwanda’s agrifood system: Structure and drivers of transformation

Rwanda’s agrifood system: Structure and drivers of transformation PDF Author: Diao, Xinshen
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 35

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Book Description
This paper assesses the structure of Rwanda’s current and evolving agrifood system and its contribu-tion to national development. The paper reiterates the point that Rwanda’s agrifood system stretches well beyond primary agriculture and creates jobs and income opportunities throughout the economy. While off-farm components of Rwanda’s agrifood system have generally grown more rapidly than pri-mary agriculture in recent years, growth varies across value chains of the agrifood system in the stud-ied period. The growth diagnostic in this paper reveals that it is domestic markets that have driven the recent growth in Rwanda’s AFS other than exports. The paper’s forward-looking analysis assesses potentially differential impacts of value-chain develop-ment efforts on broad development outcomes. The analysis measures the synergies and trade-offs of value-chain development in the context of an inclusive agricultural transformation. Such analysis is conducted using the Rwanda Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model – an adaption of IFPRI’s Rural Investment and Policy Analysis (RIAPA) model to the Rwandan context. The modeling results indicate that value chains differ considerably in their effectiveness in achieving development goals and there are significant trade-offs among different development goals from pro-moting a specific value chain. The value chains that make a larger contribution to growth or job crea-tion are not necessarily effective in reducing poverty or improving dietary quality – for example, value chains for coffee and tea – while value chains that play an important role in improving dietary quality may contribute less to job creation – such as vegetables or fruits. While there is no single value chain that can achieve all development goals effectively, it is possible to select a diversified set of value chains that complement each other in achieving different development goals. This latter strategy is a more realistic approach to growth and development.

Rwandan Economy at the Crossroads of Development

Rwandan Economy at the Crossroads of Development PDF Author: Gouranga G. Das
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811550468
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This volume represents a cornucopia of research studies coming out of an international conference held in Kigali, Rwanda in 2018. The essays comprise contributions on various microeconomic and macroeconomic policy angles that are crucial for a less developed economy to embark on a road to recovery to converge with the desired trajectory. The topics encompass a broad range of issues like the role of savings, capital formation, human capital, innovations, entrepreneurship, profit-shifting by multinational corporations, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and firms’ strategies for achieving sustained and balanced growth. The chapters are organized under three major themes based on the commonality of areas that they cover: (i) Macroeconomic Constraints: Monetary Policy, Investments, and Population; (ii) Firms’ Performance, SMEs, and Role of Entrepreneurship; and (iii) Entrepreneurship and Business Performance: Strategies and Policies. It has a collection of 12 empirical studies that have an overall focus on macroeconomic policies such as savings among the rural poor; sustained investments in and development of capital markets; role of entrepreneurial sustainability; role of innovations for firms’ performance; healthcare reforms; the benefits of technology, policy incentives such as tax benefits for promoting growth, and strategic considerations such as marketing or positioning strategies; export strategies; and productivity enhancement via processing and profit sharing. With contributions from 27 authors, the studies bring forth knowledge about the factors that influence well-being via better technologies and innovations favoring productivity, firm performance, and their positive externalities in the food, nutrition, and health sectors. Given the wide-ranging coverage of top-down and bottom-up approaches and strategies for development, the book offers insights for policy interventions necessary for Rwanda’s gradual transition from agriculture to an industrial transformation via manufacturing and service-led development without smokestack industries.

Synopsis: Public investment prioritization for Rwanda's agricultural transformation: Benefits of an increase in public spending on agriculture under PSTA4

Synopsis: Public investment prioritization for Rwanda's agricultural transformation: Benefits of an increase in public spending on agriculture under PSTA4 PDF Author: Aragie, Emerta
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 6

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Book Description
Although public spending under the fourth Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture 2018– 2021 (PSTA 4) is generally well structured and cost-effective, funding has been largely stagnant— and even declining, when measured in constant prices—during PSTA’s first four years. This note summarizes the effects of a modest reallocation of public spending under PSTA 4 towards greater cost-effectiveness, as well as a modest increase in PSTA 4 spending. Results draw on an economywide modeling tool designed to prioritize public resources around four key development goals: economic growth, employment creation, poverty reduction, and diet quality improvement.

Synopsis: Public investment for Rwanda's inclusive agricultural transformation: A midterm assessment of the contribution of PSTA4

Synopsis: Public investment for Rwanda's inclusive agricultural transformation: A midterm assessment of the contribution of PSTA4 PDF Author: Aragie, Emerta
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 5

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Book Description
Rwanda’s fourth Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture (PSTA 4), which extends from 2018 to 2024, is currently at its midpoint. This note highlights the contribution of PSTA 4 in its first half (2018–2021) to four key development outcomes: economic growth, job creation, poverty reduction, and diet quality improvement.

Commercialization of Agriculture Under Population Pressure

Commercialization of Agriculture Under Population Pressure PDF Author: Joachim Von Braun
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896290875
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
The integration of traditional agriculture into local, national, and international markets is part of a development strategy oriented toward growth. Crop specialization and market integration are seen to hold the promise of wider employment opportunities, larger incomes, and improved consumption and nutrition for the rural poor. Such agricultural development also leads to the emergence of a rural service sector that provides additional employment. But whether the poor obtain a fair share, directly or indirectly, of the gains from commercialization of agriculture is largely determined by the policies and programs adopted. In Commercialization of Agriculture Under Population Pressure: Effects on Production, Consumption, and Nutrition in Rwanda, Research Report 85, Joachim von Braun, Hartwig de Haen, and Juergen Blanken examine the driving forces and the effects of commercialization in a study site in Rwanda, one of the most densely populated areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This study represents part of IFPRI's continuing research on ensuring food security and alleviating poverty through agricultural commercialization. The present study assesses the interaction of increased commercialization with population growth and the results for production, household real income, family food consumption, expenditures for nonfood goods and services, and the nutritional status of the sample population. It also develops a long-term perspective for agricultural, employment, and nutrition policies.

Rwanda Food and Agriculture Policy Monitoring Review 2020

Rwanda Food and Agriculture Policy Monitoring Review 2020 PDF Author: Tuyishime, C., Pernechele, V., Bizimana, C., Semwaga, O.
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251337128
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Book Description
Rwanda’s agricultural sector accounts for about 29 percent of GDP and employs about 72 percent of the population that is economically active. It is still the dominant source of income for the majority of the poor who live in rural areas and is of significant importance in achieving the national priority objectives of sustainable economic growth, food security, and poverty alleviation. The report provides quantitative evidence on how the Government of Rwanda’s policies and expenditure decisions have supported its food and agriculture sector over the past decade. More, in particular, it provides information on the extent to which producers of key food (rice and wheat) and export crops (tea and coffee) are being supported – or penalized – by the policy. Also, it sheds light on the level and composition of public expenditures on food and agriculture, and how these have been changing over time. And finally, it assesses the coherence between the Government’s agricultural policies and its overall strategic priorities and provides insight into whether these are coherent.Conclusions and recommendations are believed to provide guidance for policy decision-making and reforming of policies that constrain productivity growth – the main engine for agriculture transformation and development.