Context and Rationale of the Project
Rwanda
has made strong policy commitments to reduce post-harvest losses (PHL) and
strengthen agro-processing through frameworks such as NST2, PSTA5, and the
National Agriculture Policy, aiming to modernize storage, drying, cold chains,
and processing, and to reduce PHL to below 5% by 2029 in support of food
security, increased farmer incomes, and the country’s ambition to become a
regional agri-food hub (MINAGRI, 2018; MINAGRI, 2024; Government of Rwanda,
2023).
However,
significant implementation gaps remain, with smallholder farmers, especially
women and youth, facing limited access to improved storage, cold rooms,
mechanical dryers, reliable energy, finance, and structured markets.
Consequently, post-harvest losses remain high across key value chains, estimated
at 13–14% for maize, 12% for rice, around 25% for Irish potatoes, and 30–40%
for vegetables, contributing to total national food losses of 30–40% of
production, equivalent to about 12% of GDP (FAO, 2019; MINAGRI, 2023). At the
same time, agro-processing remains underdeveloped, with cooperatives
constrained by limited capital, equipment, and business skills, while weak cold
chains and food safety systems further increase perishability,
disproportionately affecting women and youth who are heavily involved in
post-harvest activities but lack access to finance and secure land (NAP, 2018).
These
systemic inefficiencies force farmers to sell at low farm-gate prices, driving
income volatility, weakening food security, and undermining value addition,
export potential, and the realization of NST2 and PSTA5 objectives to position
Rwanda as a competitive, market-oriented agricultural and regional
food-exporting hub (NST2, 2024, p. 16). Against this backdrop, since 2026,
CCOAIB, in partnership with Never Again Rwanda and with support from the Swiss
Development Cooperation (SDC), has sought to catalyze policy engagement on
post-harvest management and agro-processing infrastructure as a pathway to
enhanced commercialization, improved food security, and sustainable livelihoods
for rural farming communities.
Project Goal and Objectives
· Overall Goal: To foster state
engagement in policy discussions to address gaps in post-harvest management and
agro-processing infrastructure and scale up effective practices.
·
Specific Objectives:
ü
To
generate and consolidate evidence on gaps and opportunities in post-harvest
management and agro-processing infrastructure.
ü
To
build institutional buy-in and strategic alignment around post-harvest and
agro-processing policy priorities.
ü
To
influence the government’s responsiveness to policy recommendations on
post-harvest and agro-processing infrastructure.
Implementation Approach
The project adopts a participatory, evidence-based, and
advocacy-oriented approach. It combines policy analysis, district
consultations, and multi-stakeholder dialogue with structured advocacy
platforms and technical oversight by a national Technical Committee.
Implementation emphasizes co-creation of solutions with farmers, cooperatives,
local governments, private sector actors, and national institutions. Evidence
from field realities and case studies is translated into policy briefs and
advocacy messages targeting decision-makers, while monitoring and learning
mechanisms track influence, commitments, and institutional responsiveness.
Cross-cutting priorities include gender equality, youth and disability
inclusion, climate-resilient technologies, and digital solutions for
post-harvest systems.
Project Expected Results
•
Evidence on gaps and opportunities in post-harvest and agro-processing
infrastructure generated and consolidated to inform policy process and
decision-making.
•
Institutional buy-in and strategic alignment secured for post-harvest
and agro-processing policy influence.
• Improved
policy coherence between national strategies and district implementation on
post-harvest systems.
•
Increased responsiveness of government institutions to policy
recommendations on post-harvest and agro-processing.
