Rwanda Achieving Food Security: What Prospects Lie Ahead? Challenges And Opportunities

After 1994, everything was a priority, and our people were completely broken. But we made three fundamental choices that guide us to this day. One—we chose to stay together. Two—we chose to be accountable to ourselves. Three—we chose to think big. — His Excellency President Paul Kagame, 20th Commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi (April 7, 2014) Rwanda’s socio-economic progress since 1994 has been remarkable. Rwanda is rightly considered a showcase of the enduring power of visionary leadership. Despite remarkable achievements in sustaining high growth, improved well-being, and political stability, Rwanda remains a low-income country characterized by widespread poverty and vulnerability. Subsistence agriculture still prevails, and food security—though progress has been made—remains a distant goal for millions. Today, Rwanda faces the challenge of climate change, which threatens to undermine its hard-won gains unless leadership builds on these achievements to transform agriculture and agri-food to be climate resilient, with sustainable, broad-based productivity and profitability. Such a transformation will not only require, but also drive, the transformation of the entire economy. A tall order, no doubt, but nothing less will suffice to fulfill the leadership’s aspirations for Rwanda to become a middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2050. If visionary leadership and good governance prevail, Rwanda’s future will indeed be bright.