The government will spend Rwf252.8 billion in the next financial year on initiatives that seek to promote rural development.  

This amount is 14 per cent of the total Budget read yesterday by Finance and Economic Planning minister Clever Gatete.

In the rual development allocation, agriculture development will be the key focus with Rwf54.3 billion, while health was allocated Rwf54.2 billion and social protection Rwf53.3 billion.

The Budget Allocation for rural development seeks to enhance agriculture modernisation, improving healthcare, environmental protection and education among other areas.

In agriculture crop intensification programme was allocated Rwf10 billion, rural sector support project Rwf7.7 billion, irrigation Rwf7.2 billion, Kirehe watershed management project with Rwf6.3 billion.

Private sector

Tony Roberto Nsanganira, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, said they want to partner with the private sector to increase agriculture production as well as increase the exports.

"We will continue to focus on irrigation, crop intensification, mechanisation; and we will be able to increase our production capacity that will help to reduce the trade deficit,” he said.

Sustained allocation

For the last five years, Rwanda has been allocating more than 13 per cent of the National Budget to modernise the sector and fight food insecurity as indicated in the conference of comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development program (CAADP) agreement signed in 2003.

The CAADP accord signed by African heads of states in Maputo Mozambique encourages African countries to invest at least 10 percent of national budgets in the agriculture sectors.

While presenting the Budget before Parliament yesterday, Minister Gatete said in the previous financial year, a lot was achieved in the agriculture sector.

He highlighted that currently 10,237 tonnes of maize and 3,893 tonnes of beans are stored in different government agricultural storage facilities.

In the last financial years, 97.28kms of feeder roads were constructed in various districts to help in linking markets to production areas.

Districts are   Ruhanga, Ngoma, Huye, Bugesera and Rubavu, and more eight kilometres are under construction in Rulindo and Ngororero districts.