P4P, another catalyst for economic development

Rwandan farmers, yesterday started supplying produce to World Food Programme under the Purchase For Progress (P4P) framework, an initiative that will go a long way to reduce poverty among farmers who constitute the largest percentage of the population. As was pointed out by President Paul Kagame at the launch of this programme in 2008, it will help to build the capacities of local producers, so that they can position themselves to supply not only domestic but also regional and global markets. The programme, that kicked off in Gatsibo district in the Eastern Province will without doubt help the farmers who have been struggling to get their products on the market, get fair prices which will increase to their earnings and consequently contribute to improved living standards and the general economic development. Additionally, the P4P framework, comes with various incentives like facilitating the creation of synergies between WFP and other partners. This is mainly in the provision of credit and seed inputs for building capacity of the farmers, and it shows the immense opportunity that comes along with this initiative. After the Gatsibo launch, we expect the programme to be extended to other parts of the country, where some farmers are still finding it hard to sell their surplus products at reasonable prices. The farmers should, therefore, take advantage of this arrangement and produce sufficient quantities that will meet the demands of their partners. Ends

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P4P, another catalyst for economic development