Horticulture Trade Enhancement and Certification in Rwanda

The Project at A Glance

Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and agriculture accounts for a third of country’s GDP. Agriculture however remains quite traditional in nature, with little mechanisation and low scale irrigation, leaving agricultural production vulnerable to climatic conditions.
International Economics led a consortium to support the Rwanda Private Sector Federation (RPSF) to improve exports, competitiveness and market access of Rwanda’s horticulture products (HORTEC project).

What We Found

Rwanda’s National Export Strategy (NES) consists of a five-year plan designed to accelerate the progress already achieved and to shape the country’s development in the future. The NES focuses on a number of horticultural crops such as coffee and tea. Given the dependency on key export products, it is imperative that Rwanda’s nascent export sectors such as horticulture exports are not affected by unnecessary barriers to trade. Our Team supported the Rwanda Private Sector Federation (RPSF) by conducting a situation analysis and needs assessment of the horticulture producers and exports. We provided a training and support to the small-scale farmers for the Global G.A.P. certification, as well as capacity building to local service providers and trainers from National trade-related organisations on food safety and quality, good agriculture practices, export quality management system, access to markets to support horticulture producers and exporters in the process for certification.

Our Strategy and Impact

The government of Rwanda is implementing several programmes to boost the agriculture sector and increase exports through diversification (away from coffee and tea). This action aimed to contribute to reduced losses and food safety standards, as well as improve the export competitiveness of local products, through increased food and product safety enforcement and awareness, including contributing to a strong quality infrastructure, standardisation, and conformity assessment procedures in Rwanda in accordance with international standardsThrough the HORTEC Project, we have trained 20 experts on the principals of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and international Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, 10 farm sites were provided with training and awareness of the Global GAP® concepts, and as a result 3 farms were very close to reaching certification. Most importantly, industry connections have been created between exporters, farm managers, consultants and certification representatives from the ministry.

Our Core Solutions

As businesses seek to expand operations into new markets, the need to explore global supply chains and understand the international regulatory framework becomes crucial. At International Economics Consulting, we build tailor-made strategies for both import and export-oriented business solutions.