The East African Community (EAC) Partner States should put adequate resources into addressing risks in the agriculture sector and building resilience to climate change for food security and livelihood improvement, Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente has said.

The Premier made the observations while speaking at the EAC High-Level Forum on Climate Change and Food Security, which was held in Arusha, Tanzania, on November 23.

Participants at the form included Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who is also the current Chair of EAC Heads of State Summit; Tanzanian President Suluhu Samia; Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto; Rwanda’s Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente; and Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Rebecca Kadaga.

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Summarising the conversation, Ngirente said "it’s really about how do we make sure that our 283 million people in our Community have enough food. And having enough food means availability of food, affordability, and access. Those are three things we need to take care of in our community.”

Also, he said there is a need to ensure that the region’s 4.8 million square kilometres are not, or less affected by all climate-related disasters.

"And we have seen that in the recent past where we had natural disasters in Rwanda, in Kenya, in Burundi, in Tanzania, in every country,” he said.

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For him, regional collaboration in disaster management, and knowledge sharing among EAC Partner States are critical in tackling disasters, and achieving food security purposes, because there are best practices in each country that can benefit others.

With almost more than a quarter of food produced in Africa being lost post-harvest, Ngirente underscored the need for addressing post-harvest losses.

"Countries must put in place proper post-harvest handling facilities, because when you see what is happening in Africa, we produce less, and even 40 per cent of what we have produced is lost on the step of post-harvest management.”

In this context, he said that post-harvest management facilities, including cold rooms, and storage facilities, among others, must be adequately available.

Kenya’s President William Ruto reiterated the issues at hand including too much rain causing floods, rainfall shortage resulting in drought, and mudslides, which eventually lead to food insecurity.

"It, therefore, calls on us to be innovative, to be creative in designing how we use the resources that we have to deal with the challenges of climate change and to see how we can reverse some of the effects of what we have done because climate change is caused by human activity and human behaviour,” he said.

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The Secretary General of EAC Secretariat, Peter Mathuki said food and climate are the very basic issues that affect citizens, underscoring the urgency for climate adaptation resilience.

"Doubling adaptation finance commitments, swift operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund, and development and transfer of technologies are key,” he said.

How Rwanda is faring in terms of de-risking the agric sector

Talking about what Rwanda has done in terms of attracting investors in the agriculture sector, Ngirente said that this industry has been considered a risky sector, with investors being reluctant to venture into it.

To appeal to investors in the sector, he said, de-risking it was the way to go, to make sure that they could come in.

He indicated that the government has to make sure that there are viable infrastructures such as constructing feeder roads, and making sure that financing for agriculture is available (such as loans).

"In Rwanda we are trying to make sure that at least the funding for agriculture can be a financing with a single digit – less than 10 per cent [interest rate], especially to make sure that smallholder farmers can get this kind of loans,” he told participants at the event.

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Again, Ngirente said that the government has given some incentives to investors in the agriculture sector, including setting up an agriculture insurance scheme.

"So, that insurance covers risks on crops or livestock, and it is subsidised by the government at a rate of 40 per cent, and it’s working. Now people who have livestock or crops are insured, and we have seen the impact of that insurance scheme,” he said.

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With drought causing crop failure or low yields, Ngirente said irrigation is one of the means to deal with it.

And in Rwanda, the government supports small-scale irrigation scheme by subsidising the needed equipment to bring down the cost for the farmers, he pointed out.