Farmers irrigate their tomatoes in Kirehe district in rural Rwanda. PSTA4 is expected to promote small scale irrigation to increase food production. ©FAO/Teopista Mutesi

The designing of Rwanda’s fourth Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture (PSTA4) is taking shape. The plan is the main policy framework for agriculture development in Rwanda. It will come on the heels of the PSTA-3 which ends in 2017/18 financial year. A number of consultations have been carried out to gather views and ideas from farmers and experts in the field from within and outside Rwanda.

Through FAO Africa, Regional Initiative 1 (RI1) on Africa’s Commitment to End Hunger by 2025 provided financial support to the project that has involved consultations with different stakeholders to ensure that their views and needs are reflected in the design and results framework of PSTA 4.

RI1 supports African countries to accelerate and add value to ongoing regional and country efforts through capacity strengthening and inter-sectoral coordination for accountability on investments, with coherent and harmonized programme delivery at all levels.

From 30^th August to 02^nd September experts from the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI), Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB), National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) and the World Bank met in a workshop to develop the Monitoring and Evaluation framework of PSTA 4 and alignment with CAADAP and 7YGP as well as ensuring the integration of SDGs indicators and Malabo declaration in PSTA 4.

Ibrahim BYIRINGIRO from NISR during the workshop made a presentation on Rwanda’s process to domesticate SDGs, he expressed satisfaction at how the new strategic plan is integrating existing indicators.

“Our contribution as NISR is to show existing SDGs and Malabo declaration indicators and how they can integrated so that when they are developing the PSTA4 monitoring and evaluation framework they are included,” Ibrahim said.

Octave Semwaga, Director General of Strategic Planning and Programmes Coordination at MINAGRI stressed that PSTA4 will seek to professionalise the sector to increase its productivity and access to markets.

PSTA4 expected to address major gaps in the soon expiring PSTA3 including, building resilience, nutrition sensitivity, gender mainstreaming, climate smart agriculture and small scale irrigation.