Rwanda, IFAD sign $78.5M financing deal to transform agriculture
The Rwandan government and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) have signed a $78.5 million financing agreement to transform the country’s agriculture.
Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Yusuf Murangwa signed the agreement on behalf of the government, while IFAD Country Director Dagmawi Habte-Selassie signed on behalf of the funder on Tuesday in the capital city, Kigali.
In a brief statement the ministry said the funding will support Kayonza hillside irrigation project in eastern Rwanda, which the ministry officials say has been credited for expanding cultivation land, and enhancing water management which has improved farm yields.
Rwanda's Kayonza district has been one of the districts with the lowest amount of rainfall in the last three years, leading to prolonged droughts, Rwanda Metrology Agency shows.
To address the challenge, the government embarked on constructing a water dam with capacity to store one million cubic meters of water to facilitate irrigation, according to information from the Ministry of Agriculture.
