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Climate change

Rwanda's Irrigation Efforts Face Challenges, parliament Urges Action

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Rwanda's Parliament has directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources to outline strategies to address the limited irrigated land in the country, with food production heavily reliant on rainfall. This move aims to help farmers build resilience to climate change and achieve food security. The resolution was made on November 15, following the adoption of a report analyzing the performance audit on irrigation schemes in Rwanda, which was conducted by the Auditor General from July 2018 to December 2022.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Auditor General's report exposed key issues in Rwanda's irrigation efforts, including inaccurate irrigation reports and mismatches between irrigatable farmland and data from the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB).
  • The report revealed that only 29% of the expected 18,000 hectares of irrigated land was under irrigation, while 71% was not irrigated.
  • Effective maintenance and protection of irrigation infrastructure were lacking, with damaged equipment reported at multiple sites.
  • Floods damaged irrigation systems on developed marshlands, and valley dams in Ruhango, Kayonza, Kirehe, and Nyagatare were unable to retain water due to erosion.
  • The National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) sets a goal to irrigate over 102,000 ha by 2024, but as of 2021-2022, only 68,000 ha were under irrigation.

Statistics:

  • Over 18,000 hectares of irrigated land were expected to be developed in 31 sites inspected, but only 29% of the area was under irrigation.
  • 71% of the expected irrigated area was not irrigated.
  • The Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) signed a deal worth over Rwf2.5 billion with a contractor to rehabilitate a marshland and a dyke in 2020.
  • As of 2021-2022, the area under irrigation in Rwanda was over 68,000 ha.
  • Rwanda targets to irrigate over 102,000 ha by 2024 under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1).

Sources:

  • New Times. (2023). Bugesera farmers receive gov’t bailout after devastating floods. Retrieved from
  • National Minimum Data Set for Agriculture (MINAGRI) Annual Report 2021-2022.
  • The New Times. (2023). Parliament calls for urgent action to fix irrigation scheme faults. Retrieved from The New Times. (2023). Parliament calls for urgent action to fix irrigation scheme faults.

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